PRO TENNIS
Former Old Dominion star Yuliia Starodubtseva sneaked into the French Open main draw and her earned her second lifetime Grand Slam main-draw match victory Monday.
Ranked 81st in the world, the 25-year-old from Ukraine beat No. 148 Tamara Korpatsch of Germany 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 on the Roland Garros clay in Paris.
Starodubtseva next will play Wednesday against 37th-ranked Anastasia Potapova, who upended No. 29 Linda Noskova 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.
Starodubtseva, a two-time Conference USA Player of the Year, saw her 14-match, two-year winning streak in Grand Slam qualifying matches end in the final round last week when she fell 6-0, 6-4 to Czechia’s Sara Bejlek.
But as one of the highest-ranked players in the qualifying bracket, Starodubtseva was one of the first eligible to be a “lucky loser” — someone to fill a spot in the draw if another player withdraws. That opportunity came Sunday when Romania’s Sorana Cirstea pulled out with a right calf injury.
Starodubtseva’s other main-draw major triumph came at last year’s Wimbledon, where she beat Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck.
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS TENNIS
Landstown’s Samuels second in region singles
Landstown’s Chloe Samuels was the runner-up in Class 6 Region A singles, falling 6-2, 0-6, 1-0 (10-5) to Deep Run freshman Niharika Ketha on an indoor court at James River Country Club in Newport News.
Samuels and Johanna Pilapil lost 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 1-0 (10-7) in a doubles semifinal to Deep Run’s Daniella Jeyasingh and Chiara Bognetti. Glen Allen juniors Marisa Kazzie and Arden Ebbesen then beat Jeyasingh and Bognetti 6-2, 6-1 for the title.
The champions earned berths in the state semifinals.
COLLEGE MEN’S TENNIS
Veritas alum, partner fall in NCAA final
Two points from victory, Veritas Collegiate Academy alum Vuk Vuksanovic and his Tufts teammate Javier Gonzalez were edged in the NCAA Division III doubles championship match in Claremont, California.
Chicago’s Andrei Leonov and Pat Otero won the final three points to defeat the Jumbos 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
