Natalia Vikhlyantseva entered last year's Australian Open ranked 129th in the world. She had not yet turned 20, and opposing her in the first round of qualifying was Daniela Hantuchova, a former semifinalist in Melbourne and a two-time Indian Wells champion. Hantuchova, deep into the back nine of her storied career, was ranked far below Vikhlyantseva, but like so many matchups in tennis, you could throw the numbers out the window. This was a bonafide test for the talented but green Vikhlyantseva, a 6'1" pro from Volgograd, Russia, against one of the great Eastern European tennis players of the last 15 years.

Vikhlyantseva won that match with ease, 6-1, 6-3. She won three more matches in Melbourne before losing to fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round. In her next tournament, in St. Petersburg, she beat Yaroslava Shvedova and Daria Kasatkina to reach the semifinals. Soon, you couldn't help but notice Vikhlyantseva's numbers.

She ended 2017 ranked 54th in the world, reaching three semifinals—two in her homeland. It was the one semifinal outside of Russia, on grass in s'Hertogenbosch—another tongue twister—that she won to reach her first WTA final. Vikhlyantseva's upward trajectory suggests it won't be the last.

"It's hard to win with only two shot in modern tennis," says Vikhlyantseva, whose range and confidence with her forehand and backhand makes her a threat on all surfaces.

While Vikhlyantseva hasn't yet put together a deep run in 2018—her best showing came in Miami, where she qualified, won her first-round match and lost to Venus Williams—the 21-year-old has maintained a high enough ranking that she isn't playing qualifying draws every week.

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10 To Watch: Natalia Vikhlyantseva—long name, big game

10 To Watch: Natalia Vikhlyantseva—long name, big game

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