Lepchenko back at Boyd Tinsley

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Published: April 26, 2008

She first came to Charlottesville as a fragile teenager forced to grow up by seeking her fortune as a budding international tennis player.
At 14, Varvara Lepchenko and her father came to the U.S. to seek political asylum and to make a living playing tennis. They left behind their country, war-strifed Uzbekistan, which was plagued by civil conflict. They also left behind Lepchenko’s mother.
Seems like ancient history now, but she has been a regular part of the Charlottesville tennis scene for the past several springs at the $50,000 Boyd Tinsley USTA Women’s Pro Championship at Boar’s Head Sports Club.
Lepchenko, now 21, has tugged at our collective hearts as she struggled to reunite with her mother and to gain U.S. citizenship. Both have been resolved and the Lepchenkos are one happy family living in Allentown, Pa. The government has finally allowed Lepchenko to enjoy unrestricted travel, giving her an opportunity to play anywhere in the world since first coming to America.
This week she returns to Charlottesville in hopes of winning the Tinsley for the first time and claiming her sixth USTA Pro Circuit title. A runner-up to Carly Gullickson here in 2005, Lepchenko will be one of the favorites in this week’s event, which begins today with qualifying. The main draw (32 singles, 16 doubles) begins Tuesday on the Boar’s Head clay courts.
As always, the Tinsley tournament will feature a community angle. Players will visit local schools on Monday and Tuesday and a kid’s clinic will be held at Boar’s Head on Wednesday. Also, as always, the entire tournament is free and open to the public courtesy of Tinsley, the famed violinist of the Dave Matthews Band, a tennis enthusiast, and longtime member at Boar’s Head.
For a complete schedule, see http://www.procircuit.usta.com.
Lepchenko is currently ranked No. 155 in the world. She finished sixth on the circuit’s earnings list in 2007, claiming her fifth singles title at the $50,000 Boston event, then after qualifying at the U.S. Open, she reached the singles final at $50,000 Ashland, Ky.
She is playing at a high level this year as well, having made it to the quarterfinals at the $75,000 Midland, Mich., event, and the $25,000 La Quinta, Calif. Tournament. With doubles partner Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, she advanced to the semifinals at the WTA Tour event in Memphis earlier this year.
Defending champion Edina Gallovits, a Romanian who lives in Atlanta and is ranked No. 56 in the world, will not be in this year’s field. However, two former Tinsley champions will be competing: U.S. Fed Cup player Laura Granville (2006) and Carly Gullickson (2005), the daughter of former Major League Baseball star Bill Gullickson.
The highest-ranked player in the field is the intriguing Olga Puchkova, the 20-year-old Russian who enters the event at No. 124 in the world.
Puchkova climbed to No. 32 in the world last June before struggling mightily the rest of the season. After reaching the second round of the French Open, she dropped 11 consecutive matches before reaching Bangkok’s round of 16. Puchkova then made it to Quebec City’s quarters and the Pittsburgh ($75,000) finals.
Determined to ascend to her previous heights of a year ago, the young Russian made it to the second round at the Australian Open for the second straight time in January, then competed in the main draws of two WTA tournaments in Memphis and Indian Wells.
Also in the Tinsley field will be American Bethanie Mattek, who reached the Australian Open’s round of 16 in doubles with Jelena Jankovic in January; Abigail Spears, who has won 10 times on the circuit; Australian Samantha Stosur, the former world doubles No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam doubles champion; and Lindsay Lee-Waters, who teamed with Ashley Harkleroad to win the 2005 Tinsley doubles title, has returned.
Others in the field include: Angela Haynes, ranked No. 170; Raquel Kops-Jones, a five-time All American at Cal; former Top 10 player Brenda Schultz-McCarthy and her strong serve; reigning NCAA women’s singles champion Audra Cohen of the University of Miami, and Sesil Karatantcheva, an 18-year-old Bulgarian, ranked No. 276, but a player who has been impressive so far this season in her comeback from a two-year ban for doping.
Mattek, a 23-year-old known for her eclectic outfits as well as her tennis, is ranked No. 144 in singles and No. 27 in the world in doubles. The Boca Raton, Fla., player made it to the U.S. Open doubles quarterfinals last August with partner Sania Mirza, and to the round of 16 (with Jankovic) at this year’s Australian Open.
The tournament will continue through the week with the semifinals set for next Saturday and the championships on Sunday.