New coach, big comeback for Linda Fruhvirtova

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – It doesn’t always work that way.

But just a few days after she began working with coach Sven Groeneveld, the 17-year-old Czech came back from an 0-6 first set to defeat Egypt’s Mayar Sherif 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Sherif is ranked No. 52 to Fruhvirtova’s No. 53. But of course the big difference is that Sherif is 26, while Fruhvirtova doesn’t turn 18 until May 1.

Her next opponent is No. 27 seed Anhelina Kalinina, who is certainly within her grasp.

The teen had a nice run to the fourth round in Australia. But of course she also had a tremendous draw. She faced Aussie wild cards outside the top 150 in the first two rounds. And then she played Marketa Vondrousova, a former French Open finalist but one who was off the Tour for much of 2022.

The WTA limits on the number of top-level tournaments Fruhvirtova can play end as she turns 18. And her ranking is high enough that she can aspire to play the biggest ones. So it’s a different phase of her career now.

And she has a top flight coach to help her get there. Let’s see how it works out.