Maiden fourth round at a Slam continues stark turnaround in 23-year-old’s season
©André Ferreira / FFTAfter joining in a stirring rendition of La Marseillaise with a packed Court Suzanne-Lenglen crowd, Varvara Gracheva has to pinch herself to take stock of the week she is having.
Already the last-standing Frenchwoman in the draw following Chloe Paquet’s defeat on Friday, Gracheva will fly the flag in the second week at a major for the first time following a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Romanian Irena-Camelia Begu.
Following Corentin Moutet’s win under the lights on Thursday, France had cause to celebrate a man and a woman through to the second week for the first time in four years.
Gracheva became one of six women to reach their maiden fourth round at a major alongside Olga Danilovic, Anastasia Potapova, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Clara Tauson and Emma Navarro.
“I will remember that moment until the end of my life,” Gracheva said. “After the interview, they said it’s your first Roland-Garros as a French player with the French crowd. I said ‘yes’. I couldn't believe what a wonderful atmosphere it was.”
Having moved to Cannes as her training base in 2016, the 23-year-old has made steady inroads at the Slams since her breakout third-round appearance at Flushing Meadows on debut in 2020, a run in which she defeated Paula Badosa and 30th-seeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic.
On Saturday, in Gracheva’s sixth Grand Slam third round, the closed roof of Lenglen only amplified the support for her and not for the first time this week the French faithful helped lift her across the line.
An upset of sixth seed Maria Sakkari in her opening match, a player whom she had fallen to only a fortnight ago in Rome, lit the fire before a convincing win over Bernarda Pera.
The three-set victory over Sakkari marked her fourth top-10 win and first this season.
“This victory here is a bit special, it’s perhaps the most beautiful,” she told the partisan French crowd. “There was the whole audience on Court Simonne-Mathieu, it was incredible… The second set, when she came back, I said to myself that it was a magnificent match, in Paris, with everyone for me… The audience really gave me something.”
There was little to suggest Gracheva’s season was about to turn a corner having started it inside the top 40.
©Nicolas Gouhier / FFTShe arrived in Paris as the world No.88 after she was unable to drum up a win for the best part of two-and-half months – from her second-round exit at Melbourne Park through to the start of the clay-court season in Charleston.
Seven straight losses came as a serious dent to her confidence before she went 12-6 across all levels on clay.
“Indeed, March and February I lost most of my matches,” she said ahead of a clash against teenager Mirra Andreeva.
“I couldn't hope to be back on track quickly enough, so what I did was to try and work hard with my team that supports me and helps me… I'm happy to be solid here for Roland-Garros where on paper it shouldn't be this way normally…
“I was very frustrated about myself and about my game. When I was coming back, I decided to do things a bit more different, and good in a way. I met some people. I have now, like, two good friends and one person that loves me. They really help, how to say, for me to appreciate the moment and to have a pleasure from the moment. So, this is why I smile. I smile for them.”
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
