Varvara Gracheva and the perfect plan to beat Karolina Muchova

When we meet Varvara Gracheva after qualifying for the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati and a great victory over Karolina Muchova (6-2, 6-4), she inevitably has a smile on her face. It turns into a burst of laughter when we explain to her that we've been bombarded with questions for two days about the identity of her new coach. The mystery is over: the chosen one is Caleb Simms. A coach based in south London, he has also sparred at Wimbledon and Queen's for the past two years for players such as Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz. And if he's now working alongside Gracheva, it's through her boyfriend. The two men seem to get along like thieves and create a good atmosphere around the Frenchwoman, who really seemed to be looking for a lighthearted atmosphere.

“I needed positive emotions.”

It must be said that the search for the perfect coach has taken up a lot of her time and energy since leaving the Elite Tennis Center last year. In the spring, the adventure with Maxime Tchoutakian wasn't conclusive, so she's pinning a lot of hope on Simms, hoping to finally find stability. "I feel good. I needed positive emotions," she confirms. " It's complicated to manage. And it's difficult to find your way around. I stayed at the ETC for eight years and I must have had maybe 10 coaches. The problem is that everyone has a different vision, a different approach. It's a little stressful. But by leaving the ETC, I haven't solved the problem. I'm looking for someone with whom I'll be comfortable and for the long term. I hope that will be the case."

When it comes to her playing style, Gracheva is aware of the importance of a coach. “I can be creative on the court; it’s in my DNA. But I also know there’s a plan to execute. Because if I make the wrong choices, my creativity won’t be of any use. You have to find the right balance between what I want to do and what I have to do. The coach is useful for that.” Against Karolina Muchova, the plan was well established and it was well implemented. “I knew I wasn’t the favorite, but Caleb had seen what needed to be done, and I executed it well. I was also inspired by Caroline Garcia’s match in the previous round. She played very well, except for a few small errors that left Muchova in the match. Now, I had one goal in the match: I had to make her run as much as possible, topspin when I wasn’t in an attacking position.”

But between practice and theory, there's sometimes a world of difference. Not here. Even she was surprised. "In the first set, everything was going fast and I was thinking, oh man... what's going on? I'm doing things really well." Afterwards, there were ups and downs, but she was proud of having fought until the end. There will surely be a fight in the next round, against a qualifier like her, the German Ella Seidel. "We'll be on equal footing. I know she's a good player. Having already won five matches, she's bound to be a fighter. But we'll prepare well for the match and try to apply the tactics well. Like with Muchova."