The Austrian gem in W 1000! Let’s take a closer look at that...

Varvara Gracheva arrives with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses, but her performance metrics highlight a lingering fragility in key moments. With a Dominance Ratio below one (0.983) and a success rate on pressure points on serve capped at 53.7%, the Frenchwoman is generally more on the receiving end than dictating her cruising rhythm. Her tendency to double her opponent’s number of unforced errors on serve (0.35 versus 0.18) is a weakness that exposes her service games to constant pressure, which is particularly risky against a precise returner. She reached the round of 16 here in 2023.

Lilli Tagger is the 17-year-old Austrian sensation who’s shaking everything up in her path. Junior champion at Roland-Garros in 2025 under the wing ofFrancesca Schiavone, she has begun a blistering transition to the pros, breaking into the top 120 in record time thanks to titles on the ITF circuit and a final in Mumbai. A clay-court player by training with a one-handed backhand that recalls the finest moments of her coach, she’s proving here that her game of variety and tactical prowess adapts perfectly to the slow hard courts of California, where she can use the full geometry of the court to make her opponents crack.

Lilli Tagger is absolutely exploding onto the scene, moving from clay-court specialist to serious hard-court threat thanks to a meteoric rise since her junior title at Roland-Garros. While her game of variations initially seemed tailor-made for clay, her 2026 stats on fast surfaces show a complete adaptation, with a Dominance Ratio of 1.250 and an exceptional match efficiency of 3.200. The Austrian now relies on a powerful quality of serve and remarkable solidity in critical moments, winning 63.8% of her pressure points on serve. Her ability to convert break opportunities with a killer instinct could prove decisive against the Frenchwoman’s chronic inconsistency.