Kostyuk claims ATX Open Austin title with a victory over Gracheva, no handshake at net between Ukrainian and Russian

Marta Kostyuk was superior to Varvara Gracheva and took her first WTA 250 title at ATX Open Austin.

Marta Kostyuk had the best week of her career in Austin and became the inaugural ATX Open champion. 20-year-old player entered the tournament as the eighth seed and had to defeat players such as Madison Brengle and Danielle Collins on her way to the final. Gracheva didn't have an easy ride either, as she had to defeat top seed Magda Linette in the first round and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens to reach her first WTA 250 final.

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During the first set, the players had a rather mixed performance on their serves, with eight out of the first nine games being broken. Kostyuk was the only one who could win a service game in the first set, which was enough to take the lead at 6-3. The Russian saved two set points, but a double fault gave her rival the decisive point.

The players were more effective with their serves in the second part of the match, and despite Gracheva being in a position to win the set with her serve, she once again succumbed to the pressure and Kostyuk managed to close out the match by 6-3, 7-5.

The Ukrainian player will now be ranked as the new world No. 40, which is her best ranking so far, and she will arrive at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells in great form to compete.

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