With victories over Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic on Monday, Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal matchup at the Madrid Open 2022.
To begin the day, revenge was sweet for Jabeur, as the eighth-seeded Tunisian defeated Belinda Bencic for the first time in three career meetings to advance to the quarterfinals.
Jabeur won 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in just under two hours, overcoming both the No. 11 seed and a weather delay prior to the start of the third set. Due to the rain, the final set of their match was played under a closed roof.
Following Jabeur’s victory, Halep defeated American teenager Coco Gauff for the second time this year at a WTA 1000.
After defeating No.2 seed Paula Badosa in Round 2, the former World No.1 and two-time Madrid champion won her second match against a seeded player this week, defeating the No. 14 seed 6-4, 6-4.
Later, in a three-hour thriller, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Marie Bouzkova to advance to the last eight. She will compete against Amanda Anisimova, who defeated former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
Ekaterina Alexandrova won a gruelling qualifier match in Madrid, taking over three hours to defeat Marie Bouzkova 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5 and advance to the quarterfinals of the year’s first clay-court WTA 1000 event.
Alexandrova will face Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals, who held off a second-set comeback by former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka and won 6-1, 6-4.
(Input from ANI)