Daria Snigur Survives Four Match Points and Wins the Longest Tiebreaker Madrid Has Seen in Eight Years
Ukraine's Daria Snigur just gave tennis fans one of those matches you won't forget anytime soon. In her first ever tour-level clay-court match, the world's 98th-ranked player walked into Madrid's Mutua Open and absolutely refused to lose, battling past Australia's Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (13) on Thursday.
Let's talk about that third-set tiebreaker for a second. Snigur saved four match points before closing out a marathon finish that went 13 points deep. This wasn't just any tiebreaker either. It's the longest first-to-seven tiebreaker in a WTA third set in eight years and the sixth-longest of the entire century. Kasatkina, a 2022 French Open semifinalist, had every chance to win this thing. She saved 17 of 24 break-point chances and matched Snigur perfectly in the stat sheet, each player winning 50% of their service points and 50% of their return points. But Snigur had ice in her veins when it mattered most.
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Madrid served up a massive 22-match slate on Thursday with seven Americans in the mix. Alycia Parks made quick work of Italy's Elisabetta Coccioretto, finishing in just 74 minutes with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Parks converted 3 of 7 break chances on Coccioretto's serve and saved all three break points she faced, despite hitting just 52% of her first serves. She'll face fellow American and No. 31 seed Ann Li in the second round.
It wasn't all smooth sailing for the Americans though. Taylor Townsend fell 6-4, 6-2 to Great Britain's Katie Boulter, while Elvina Kalieva took a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
What's Next for Snigur
Snigur's reward for that marathon effort? A second-round matchup against No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland. After digging herself out of a match-point hole against Kasatkina on clay of all surfaces, she'll be ready for anything Swiatek throws at her. This is exactly the kind of statement win that can carry momentum deep into a tournament.
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