Ashley Kratzer
Kratzer Upsets Top Seed Gibbs
Falconi Outlasts Peterson; Kenin Wins Battle of Teenagers
TYLER (November 2, 2017) — 18 year old Ashley Kratzer(Newport Beach, CA) had looked impressive all week in Tyler. Four dominant straight set wins earned her a meeting with tournament top seed Nicole Gibbs.
After dropping her first set of the week in fairly meek fashion, 6-1, things were not looking good for Kratzer. Gibbs’ variety and point in, point out consistency looked like it was going to be too much for the young American. Early games in the second set proved critical; Kratzer found her forehand and started to dictate play from the back of the court.
“I could not get my timing in the first set,” Kratzer said. “She was hitting the ball pretty big and I couldn’t figure it out. So to start the second set I just tried to think about ways to keep her from getting her favorite shots. As soon as I did that I started playing better.”
The key to the match was Kratzer’s ability to capitalize on break point opportunities. She converted five of six break point chances, while Gibbs only converted five of twelve. Kratzer will play her sixth match in as many days Friday against Danielle Collins((St. Petersburg, Florida).
“Physically I’m feeling great,” Kratzer said. “Qualifying wasn’t too tough on me this week; last week(Macon) was a lot harder.”
Thursday’s marathon match squared Irina Falconi (Manhattan, New York), the tournament’s number seven seed, against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden. Peterson led at many different stages of the match, including 5-3 in the third set, but 27 year old Falconi used her experience on tour to eventually come back and win 7-5 in the third set after three hours and five minutes of play.
“I literally kept telling myself, ‘make her play every single point’,” Falconi said. “There were a lot of momentum shifts, so I tried to stay within myself the whole time. The last time I got through a gritty match like that I won the tournament, so maybe it’s a good omen.”
Taylor Townsend(Chicago, Ill) continued her good form with a routine win over Sophie Chang, and also booked her spot into the doubles semifinals, partnering with Jessica Pegula. Falconi and Townsend are the only two players remaining in both the singles and doubles draws.
Finally, 18 year old Sofia Kenin (Pembroke Pines, FL) defeated fellow American teenager Amanda Anisimova (Freehold, NJ) 6-4 6-3.
Live streaming, live scores and draws can be found at www.RBCProChallenge.com.
RBC Pro Challenge
A USTA Pro Circuit Event
Tuesday, October 31
Tyler Athletic and Swim Club
Tyler, Texas
Purse: $80,000
Surface: Hard-Outdoor
Thursday, November 2 — RESULTS
Singles – Second Round
Elitsa Kostova(Bulgaria), def. Victoria Duval(United States) 6-4 5-7 7-5
(2)Taylor Townsend (United States), def. Sophie Change (United States) 6-2 6-1
(Q)Ashley Kratzer(United States), def. (1)Nicole Gibbs (United States) 1-6 7-5 6-3
(3)Sofia Kenin (United States), def. Amanda Anisimova (United States) 6-4 6-3
Cagla Buyukakcay (Turkey), def. Sesiil Karatantcheva (Bulgaria) 6-2 6-2
(7)Irina Falconi (United States), def. Rebecca Peterson (Sweden) 6-7(3) 6-2 7-5
Danielle Collins(United States), def. Jamie Loeb(United States) 6-4 6-3
Doubles – Quarterfinals
Jessica Pegula (United States)/Taylor Townsend(United States), def. (3)Sophie Chang(United States)/jAlexandra Mueller(United States)6-4 4-6 10-6
(1)Irina Falconi(United States)/Maria Irigoyen(Argentina), def. Angelina Gabueva(Russia)/Sachia Vickery(United States) 6-3 3-0 Ret.
(2)Ashley Weinhold(United States)/Caitlin Whoriskey(United States), def. Ulrikke Eikeri(Norway)/Elitsa Kostova(Bulgaria) 6-2 7-5
Jamie Loeb(United States)/Rebecca Peterson(Sweden), def. Aymet Uzcategui(Venezuela)/Amy Zhu(United States) 6-4 6-4
ORDER OF PLAY – Friday, November 3
Stadium – 11am Start
Elitsa Kostova(BUL) vs. (4)Kristie Ahn(USA)
Not Before 12:00PM
(7)Irina Falconi(USA) vs. (2)Taylor Townsend(USA)
Cagla Buyukakcay(TUR) vs. (3)Sofia Kenin(USA)
Jessica Pegula(USA)/Taylor Townsend(USA) vs. (2)Ashley Weinhold(USA)/Caitlin Whoriskey(USA)
Court 1 – 1pm Start
Ashley Kratzer(USA) vs. Danielle Rose Collins(USA)
After Rest, Time TBA
Jamie Loeb(USA)/Rebecca Peterson(SWE) vs. (1)Irina Falconi(USA)/Maria Irigoyen(ARG)
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