the brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia reached the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart tournament after the withdrawal of her rival, Kazakh Elena Rybakinawho left the match as the South American won 6-1 and 6-3.
The Kazakh was last year’s Wimbledon champion and the seventh-ranked tennis player in the world, but Bia Haddad has beaten her in the only previous match between the two, this year at the Abu Dhabi tournament.
Rybakina, this year’s winner at Indian Wells and finalist at the Australian Open and Miami, battled a back injury to withdraw from the competition. Haddad Maia will face Tunisian Ons Jabeur, third favorite, in the quarterfinals.
The world number one is also among the eight best. A month after losing in the semifinal of Indian Wells, definitely against Rybakina, the Polish Iga Swiatek returned to competition with a big win over China’s Qinwen Zheng.
The player from Warsaw, first favorite, winner of this year’s Doha tournament as well as reaching the final in Dubai, defeated the eastern tennis player in an hour and a half and in two sets (6-1 and 6-4 ), where he has won twice before.
Iga Swiatek hit hard in her debut on clay and will face Czech Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinalswho previously defeated Croatian Donna Vekic in three sets, 6-2, 6-7 (5) and 7-6 (5).
Paula Badosa won the Spanish match against Cristina Bucsa by a resounding 6-1 and 6-2and will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, second seed, in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart tournament.
It took Badosa one hour and ten minutes to defeat Bucsa for the second time in her career, number 64 in the WTA rankings and never once entered the match or questioned her rival’s success.
Paula Badosa, who has the best record in 2023 in the Adelaide semifinals, will face the second player in the world in the quarterfinals, Arynba Sabalenka, winner of the Australian Open in January.
The elimination of the American Cori Gauff was the surprise of the session. The North American offered little resistance to Russian Anastasia Potapova, who won 6-2 6-4, and will play against French Caroline Garcia, fourth favourite, who defeated German Tatjana Maria 7-6 (5) and 6-4. .
Source: La Verdad
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