Senior Mallory Burdette and junior Nicole Gibbs are both in action at this week’s U.S. Open, with the duo facing Serena and Venus Williams this afternoon following Burdette’s second-round singles match against the Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradecka.
Senior Mallory Burdette won the second WTA title of her career on Saturday, dominating American Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-0 in the finals of the Odium Brown Vancouver Open. With the win, she also secured a wild card spot in the main draw of the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 27.
Rising senior Mallory Burdette won the singles draw of the Women’s Hospital 2012 Tennis Classic in Evansville, Ind. this past Sunday. Burdette defeated No. 1 Ying-Ying Duan of China 6-1, 6-2 to claim the first major professional tournament victory of her career. She easily moved past the qualifying rounds before winning five more main draw matches to take the $10,000 Pro Circuit event.
The Bank of the West Classic, the oldest women’s-only tournament in the world, kicked off the U.S. Open Series last week from July 9 to 15 on the Taube Family Tennis Stadium outdoor hardcourts. In addition to featuring tennis legends such as defending champion recent Wimbledon winner No. 4 Serena Williams and France’s No. 10 Marion Bartoli, the Classic gave wild-card berths to Stanford players Nicole Gibbs and Mallory Burdette.
Stanford senior Mallory Burdette nearly pulled out a set against the 10th-ranked player in the world, Marion Bartoli, at the Bank of the West Classic Thursday, but dropped the second-round match 7-5, 6-0.
Earlier this season, rising junior Nicole Gibbs and rising senior Mallory Burdette established themselves as top contenders in a historic Cardinal sweep of the NCAA Championships final in May. Gibbs and Burdette won the doubles draw and placed as champion and runner-up, respectively, in singles.
It was a historic day for Stanford women’s tennis at the NCAA Tennis Championships, as an all-Cardinal final in the singles draw was followed by a doubles title just hours later. Sophomore Nicole Gibbs defeated junior teammate Mallory Burdette for the individual championship before the two joined forces to take the doubles crown 6-2, 6-4.
Just two players, sophomore Nicole Gibbs and junior Mallory Burdette, are left carrying the torch for Stanford women’s tennis at the NCAA Championship, as both won their second round singles matches this morning and advanced to the quarterfinal round. Gibbs and Burdette also combined to win their first round match in the doubles draw.