Ukrainian delivers stunning performance at WTA 1000 in US, beats Americans

WTA 1000 Cincinnati. Doubles. Hard court, round of 32

Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) / Ellen Perez (Australia) vs. Hailey Baptiste (USA) / Jessica Pegula (USA) 6–4, 7–5

Kichenok and Perez advance to quarterfinals

In the second round, Kichenok and Perez defeated the debut duo of Baptiste and Pegula in straight sets (6–4, 7–5) in 1 hour and 13 minutes.

This was the first head-to-head meeting between these pairs. Baptiste and Pegula were playing their first joint tournament at this level, while the Ukrainian-Australian pair showed consistent play and successfully executed their combinations.

Next opponents

In the quarterfinals, the Ukrainian-Australian pair will face the American players Nicole Melichar and Liudmila Samsonova.

Experts predict a tight battle, as both teams are in good form.

It should be recalled that earlier, at the start of the tournament, they defeated Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya.

Ukrainian tennis players in Cincinnati

Lyudmyla Kichenok remains the only Ukrainian representative still competing in the Cincinnati tournament. In the singles event, there are no more Ukrainian participants:

• Elina Svitolina lost in the second round to Czech Barbora Krejcikova, failing to beat this opponent in repeated matches.
• Marta Kostyuk, due to a wrist injury sustained at the previous tournament in Montreal, withdrew before her third-round match against Iga Swiatek.
• Dayana Yastremska pulled out of the tournament before her third-round match against world number two Coco Gauff.

Thus, all of Ukraine's hopes at the WTA 1000 hard-court tournament in Cincinnati now rest on the doubles event, where Lyudmyla Kichenok continues to compete alongside Ellen Perez.