One statistic in particular stands out from Oleksandra Oliynykova’s milestone 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 4 seed Wang Xinyu in the Transylvania Open quarterfinals.
The result was the most significant of the 25-year-old’s career so far, it was her first defeat of a Top 50 player, and she advances to her first semifinal on the WTA Tour as a result. To seal it, Oliynykova saved a remarkable 21 out of 23 break points against her. Her 91.3% rate of break points saved is the highest at tour level since full data began to be kept in 2021.
Oliynykova only conceded her serve twice, in the opening game of each set. In the first, she staved off three points to go down a double break at 3-0, and then a further five to hold for 3-2. In the second, she fended off five break points at 2-2, one with an underarm serve, and another two at 2-2.
Afterwards, the Ukrainian linked her resilience in key moments to the perspective brought by living in a country entering its fourth year of war brought on by the Russian invasion of 2022. At the Australian Open, Oliynykova, whose father is a soldier in the Ukrainian army, spoke about how the apartment opposite hers had been struck by a drone the night before she departed for her first Grand Slam. Her arrival in Cluj-Napoca this week was nearly stymied when Kyiv was hit by a mass power outage as she was about to catch her train.
“I didn’t know this statistic, but you know, I’m coming from a country where there is war and you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring,” Oliynykova said in her on-court interview. “So, for me, it’s so important during such hard times in my country, I learned to enjoy every moment of tennis. In some way I really celebrate the game. I’m doing this for sport, for tennis.
“The key, not only today, but in general of the progress I’ve made, it stopped, to me, to be more important whether I win or lose. I’m happy to win, of course, it means a lot, but it’s not the most important thing. I learned to be in the moment.”
Amidst the hard times for Ukraine, Oliynykova and compatriot Daria Snigur also helped write some tennis history for the country. Qualifier Snigur won a 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 thriller over Yuan Yue in Thursday’s last quarterfinal, advancing to her first tour-level semifinal as a result. It’s also the first time since Ukraine gained independence in 1991 that two Ukrainians have both reached the semifinals of a WTA tournament.
Oliynykova will have the opportunity to keep her dream run in just her second tour-level main draw going when she takes on No. 1 seed Emma Raducanu in the semifinals. The Briton came through a tricky quarterfinal against qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-0, 6-4, showing controlled aggression to deal with the Pole’s defense and finesse.
This time last year, Oliynykova was yet to face a Top 100 opponent. Now, she’ll face her second Grand Slam champion within three weeks, having fallen 7-6(6), 6-1 to Madison Keys in the Australian Open first round. However, she has crossed paths with Raducanu before — indeed, Oliynykova was the second opponent of Raducanu’s professional career.
Back in 2018, they played at the lowest rung of the ladder — the second round of ITF W15 qualifying in Nanjing, China, with a 15-year-old Raducanu making her professional debut. She defeated the 17-year-old Oliynykova 7-6(2), 6-1 before falling to Cao Siqi in the final qualifying round.
Snigur will play the last home hope standing, No. 3 seed Sorana Cirstea, after the Romanian dethroned defending champion and No. 5 seed Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 6-4.
(Source: wtatennis.com)
