Volynets, 16, ousts seed to reach semis in $25K tourney

Katie Volynets, playing in the Stockton (Calif.) Women's
$60K two weeks ago, beat sixth-seeded Sherazad Reix of
France 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a 3-hour quarterfinal today in the
$25,000 Florence (S.C.) Open. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Katie Volynets continued her stunning run in the $25,000 McLeod for Health Florence (S.C.) Open today.
   The 16-year-old qualifier from Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area surprised sixth-seeded Sherazad Reix of France 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in a 3-hour quarterfinal in the hardcourt tournament. Reix, a 29-year-old left-hander, is ranked No. 278.
   Volynets, a 5-foot-6 (1.68-meter) amateur, shocked the Netherlands' Arianne Hartono, who won the NCAA Division I singles title as a Mississippi senior in May, in the final round of qualifying and eliminated Moscow native Anna Danilina, an NCAA quarterfinalist in 2017 and 2018 in her last two years at Florida, for her first main-draw victory in a professional tournament.
   Volynets then knocked off Emina Bektas, a 25-year-old former Michigan All-American who won an $80,000 tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., last fall.
   Volynets is scheduled to play unseeded Mari Osaka, the 22-year-old sister of reigning U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, on Saturday after the 9 a.m. PDT doubles final. Osaka topped qualifier Paula Cristina Goncalves of Brazil 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in 2 hours, 27 minutes.
   In the other semifinal, third-seeded Bianca Andreescu, 18, of Canada will play eighth-seeded Maria Mateas, a 19-year-old Duke freshman from nearby Chapel Hill, N.C.