Drama at the ATX Open

WTA 250 ATX Open

Top of the morning to you. It’s Tuesday, and today we’re talking tennis in Texas…

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The inaugural ATX Open has already created headlines in Austin Texas, with Former U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu pulling out due to illness, and 151st-ranked Mirjam Bjorklund upsetting Alycia Parks in three sets on Day 1.

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Two key matchups today will see Magda Linette take on Varvara Gracheva, and Danielle Collins go up against Magdalena Frech at the WTA 250 event.

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Magda Linette is riding a wave of good form after reaching the semifinal of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of Merida Open last week. 

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Linette lost to the eventual finalists of both competitions the 31 year old - ranked 21st in the world - will come into the match confident of another strong showing in Texas.

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Varvara Gracheva made the most of her lucky loser qualification in Merida last week, with a big win against Tatjana Maria and then narrowly missing out on an upset against Sloane Stephens as well. 

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22 year old Gracheva will make her work for it, but expect a win from the more experienced Linette in this matchup today.

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In today’s other standout game, Magdalena Frech and Danielle Collins will meet for the third time with the head to head record 2-0 in the American’s favour.

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Frech has yet to reach the main draw of a competition so far this year, and the 25 year old arrives in Austin having lost in straight sets to Tereza Martincová in the qualifying rounds of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

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World No.38 Danielle Collins today is 5-6 on the year so far, having lined up against a succession of tough opposition such as Elena Rybakina and Iga Świątek.

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The 29 year old has been struggling with shoulder since the end of last season, but she should have enough in the tank to make it 3-0 against Frech in Austin this afternoon.

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Linnette and Gracheva face off at 12:15 p.m. ET, and Collins and Frech are scheduled to clash at 7 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action on Tennis Channel and TVA Sports.

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MORE

More women’s sports on offer today:

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• NCAA Women's Basketball 12 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET ESPN+, ESPNU, ACC Network
• 2023 Canada Winter Games: Snowboarding Finals 1 p.m. ET CBC Sports
• Arena Games Triathlon: Montreal 5:30 p.m. ET CBC Sports

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