Sixteenth seed Elina Svitolina has knocked world No.1 Angelique Kerber out of the China Open with a 6-3, 7-5, win.
The Ukrainian never looked in danger as she was able to dominate the proceedings against as a below-par Kerber. In both sets Svitolina was broken at the start by the world No.1, but managed to claw her way back with the help of some tentative play from Kerber, who produced 27 unforced errors during the match.
“I was just trying be focused, play every ball and of course try to win.” A delighted Svitolina said after her match.
Svitolina produced 10 fewer winners than the top seed during the third round encounter, however, Kerber’s costly error count ultimately resulted in Svitolina grabbing her fourth win against a top 10 player this season. The 22-year-old appeared relaxed and calm closing out the match, but Svitolina admitted that she was struck by nerves when reaching match point.
“I was thinking about what I was going to try to do for the next ball.” She said. “I was trying to be focused, but I was still a little bit shaky.”
Thursday’s upset at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing is the second time this season that Svitolina has defeated a world No.1. At the Olympic Games she also stunned Serena Williams.
In the quarter-finals Svitolina will play Daria Gavrilova. The unseeded Australian broke France’s Caroline Garcia six times to secure a 6-4, 6-3, win.
Radwanska marches on
There was better fortunes for third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who continued her rivalry with Caroline Wozniacki by producing a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1, win over the former world No.1. The meeting in China was the third consecutive week that the two players have played each other on the tour after Tokyo and Wuhan.
During the 80-minute match in Beijing both players produced 18 winners. The telling factor of the match was the unforced error count with Wozniacki producing 21 compared to Radwanska’s nine.
Rally of the match
Following her one-sided win, Radwanska was named ‘most energetic player’ by officials at this year’s tournament. Presented a trophy for accolade, the world No.3 paid tribute to her Chinese fans.
“I really love the fans here in China. They are always so loud, so supportive. I just hope that I will see more fans tomorrow.” She said during her on court interview.
Congrats! 👏@ARadwanska awarded @ChinaOpen‘s “Most Energetic Player!” pic.twitter.com/rkKVcsa9ZS
— WTA (@WTA) 6 October 2016
Johanna Konta’s bid to become the first British woman to break the top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984 has received a boost following her marathon 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), win over world No.6 Karolina Pliskova. The Brit was broken twice during the deciding set, but held her nerve to close out the win after two hours of play.
Kontas have also boosted her chances to qualify for the end of year championships in Singapore. She is projected to rise to tenth in the race following her Beijing run. Only the top eight players will play in the tournament, which has a prize money pool of $7 million.
