No. 4 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia held off Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Zhengzhou Open in China.
Jabeur needed five match points to finish the match in just under two hours as both players struggled with their serves. Jabeur fought off 12 of 17 break points and Bronzetti saved nine of 15. Jabeur led 5-2 in the second set and ultimately had to rally from 4-2 down in the tiebreak.
Jabeur, however, was forced to withdraw from the tournament shortly thereafter due to a knee injury.
“I’m so sorry that I have to withdraw because my knee is not feeling so great, and I just want to say I loved my time in Zhengzhou,” Jabeur said in a statement.
No. 8 Daria Kasatkina of Russia advanced to the semifinals via walkover after posting a 6-2, 6-4 win over Chinese wild card Zhuoxuan Bai. No. 7 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic defeated Croatia’s Petra Martic 7-5, 6-1 and Germany’s Laura Siegemund eliminated No. 11 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Hana Bank Korea Open
Top-seeded Jessica Pegula eased into the quarterfinals in Seoul with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over fellow American Ashlyn Krueger. Pegula saved four of five break points and advanced to face another compatriot, Claire Liu.
Emina Bektas also reached the final eight with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Korea’s Su Jeong Jang, setting up a date with Australia’s Kimberly Birrell. Birrell thumped Korea’s Dayeon Back 6-0, 6-1 in 68 minutes.
No. 4 seed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic was leading 6-1 when Germany’s Eva Lys was forced to retire.
Hong Kong Open
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win against 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the second round in Hong Kong.
Fernandez, 21, will face 18-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Fruhvirtova defeated Russia’s Alina Korneeva 6-3, 7-5.
Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knocked out No. 2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 7-5, 1-6, 6-1. No. 3 Elise Mertens of Belgium ousted Russia’s Sofya Lansere 6-3, 7-6 (5). Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tomo upset No. 4 Xinyu Wang of China 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. No. 6 Martina Trevisan of Italy outlasted Poland’s Magdelena Frech 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
–Field Level Media
