Collins, Kalinskaya, Kostyuk, Friedsam Reach Austin Quarters

Harriet Dart, right, serves to Erika Andreeva at the ATX Open tennis tournament in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Fourth-seeded Danielle Collins needed barely more than an hour to overpower Caty McNally 6-1, 6-1 and reach the quarterfinals at the ATX Open on Thursday.

Collins, an American who was the runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open, saved both break points she faced while claiming five of McNally’s service games.

Collins is the highest-seeded player remaining in the field at the inaugural edition of the hard-court tournament in the Texas capital.

She’ll try to reach her first semifinal of the year by next beating 67th-ranked Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, who was a 6-3, 6-1 winner against CoCo Vandeweghe on Thursday.

Another quarterfinal matchup will be eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk against Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Kostyuk breezed through the final set to beat Madison Brengle 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 and reach her third quarterfinal of 2023. Kostyuk, a 20-year-old from Ukraine, only made it as far as the quarterfinals at one event all of last season.

The 108th-ranked Friedsam edged Erika Andreeva 7-5, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (8). For the 29-year-old Friedsam, it marks the first time the German has won back-to-back tour-level matches in North America in her career.

The two quarterfinal matchups set Wednesday were No. 5 seed Sloane Stephens against Varvara Gracheva, and Katie Volynets against Peyton Stearns. -AP

March 03, 2023