Thailand Open: Nao Hibino shocks Elina Svitolina; Linette highest seed left in draw

Fifth seed Magda Linette is the highest seed left in the Thailand Open draw after Friday’s play saw three seeded players exit the event in the quarter-finals.

Linette survived the exodus, thanks to a three-set win over China’s Xiyu Wang coming from a set down. The Pole won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 56 minutes to reach the penultimate round of the International event. She plays Patricia Maria Tig of Romania in the bottom half of the draw.

Tig upset the fourth-seeded Saisai Zheng of China in their quarter-final match in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.

The bleeding of the seeds in the top-half saw Japan’s Nao Hibino oust top-seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The eighth seed also won in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in 77 minutes. This is Hibino’s first top-10 win of her career. Prior to this match, the 25-year-old had lost all six matches she had played against WTA top-10 ranked players.

Hibino, who is ranked 84th in the world, will take on the 283rd ranked Leonie Kung of Switzerland. Kung, who qualified for the main draw, caused the final upset of the day with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over third seed Qiang Wang of China.

Sharing her happiness after her win, Kung said, “I really tried to stay calm. I’m so happy. I’ve worked so hard for this and I’m living my dream now. I’m really enjoying it.”

Photo Credit: Google

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