Early elimination for Varvara Gracheva at the US Open. Opposed to Taylor Townsend in the first round on Monday, the Frenchwoman failed to win (6-4, 6-2) despite her favorite status – Gracheva is 40th in the world, Townsend only 132nd. Broken on her third service game, on the only break point she conceded in the first set, Gracheva never managed to take the opposing face-off despite three opportunities and found herself in an uncomfortable position.
Visibly scarred by the first-set loss, Varvara Gracheva completely missed her second-set start, dropping five straight games and letting Taylor Townsend serve for the match. In a burst of pride, the French managed to take two games, before seeing the American conclude on her third match point.
With this defeat, Varvara Gracheva leaves the US Open without a single victory, a first for her in a Grand Slam since the 2022 edition of the American tournament. In the next round, American Taylor Townsend will find the winner of the match between her compatriot Sloane Stephens and the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, seeded n°17.