WTA San Jose: Elina Svitolina, Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka reach QF
World no. 7 and the top seed in San Jose Elina Svitolina is safely through to the quarter-final, ousting the struggling Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1 in 65 minutes. Svitolina defeated Kasatkina for the fifth time in as many matches, fending off four out of five break points and taking almost 60% of the return points, delivering five breaks to move over the top in no time at all. Both players struggled to find the first serve and it was the Ukrainian who did more damage with the first serve, taming her shots nicely and overcoming a slow start to grab the opener 6-3 with breaks in games three, seven and nine. Repelling four break chances in the third game of the second set, Svitolina took charge and claimed the final five games to notch the triumph and advance into the quarters. The last year's finalist Maria Sakkari will play against Elina in the next round in the repeat of their Wimbledon clash, beating the Japanese qualifier Mayo Hibi 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in grueling two hours and 35 minutes. There were 35 break opportunities up for grabs and Sakkari saved 15 out of 20 of those, earning seven breaks on the other hand to cross the finish line first.
The first set lasted for 65 minutes and Hibi claimed it 6-4 with a break in game five, saving all six obstacles she played against to move closer to the finish line. They traded four breaks in the first five games of the second set to stay locked up at 4-4 before Maria grabbed the last eight points for a 6-4, sending the encounter into a decider. There, she broke the rival four times to control the scoreboard and move into the next round. The 6th seed Carla Suarez Navarro took down Bethanie Mattek-Sands 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in an hour and 47 minutes, suffering four breaks and erasing the deficit with a stellar performance on the return, taking 60% of the points behind Mattek-Sands' serve to dominate in sets two and three. Gathering momentum after set number two, Suarez Navarro raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider and clinched the triumph with a hold at 15 at 5-2 for the first quarter-final since Dubai.
World no. 10 Aryna Sabalenka is through to the fifth quarter-final in 2019, toppling Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 14 minutes. The Belarusian landed some big numbers behind the first serve, fending off five out of six break points and earning four breaks against the opponent who served at terrible 33%. Aryna was off to a great start, marching into a 5-1 lead before closing it after saving two break points in game nine. Carried by this momentum, Sabalenka lost four points on serve in set number two, stealing the American's serve in games five and nine to book the place in the last eight.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SZ2FuN
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