Number 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko beat Daria Kasatkina 6-4 4-6 6-0 in 1 hour and 59 minutes to advance to the quarter final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Ostapenko has extended her career head-to-head lead over Kasatkina to 3-2. The Latvian beat top 10 Kasatkina after beating world number 13 and former Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round.
Ostapenko rallied from a break down twice in the first set at 1-0 and 4-3. The 2017 Roland Garros champion won three consecutive games to clinch the first set 6-4.
Kasatkina broke serve in a five-deuce in the first game of the second set. The Russian player fended off four break points in a six-deuce second game to open up a 2-0 lead. She saved three more break points and served out on her first set point forcing the match to the decider.
Ostapenko broke three times to take a bagel win in the third set.
Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beats Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3 6-3 in 1 hour and 21 minutes in an all South American match to reach the quarter finals in Rome for the first time.
Haddad Maia won two titles on grass in Birmingham and Nottingham and became the first Brazilian player to reach a WTA 1000 level quarter final in Toronto last August.
Haddad Maia never dropped serve and faced only a break point. The Brazilian player earned the first break point at 3-3 in the first set with a backhand winner. She converted it when Osorio fired a forehand long to take a 4-3 lead and earned another break in the ninth game to seal the first set 6-3.
Haddad Maia reeled off seven consecutive games to lead by a set and a break at 6-3 3-0 before Osorio won her first game. The Colombian player saved a match point to hold serve for 5-3. Haddad Maia served out the win in the next game.
Haddad Maia set up a quarter final match against Anhelina Kalininina, who came back from one set down to beat 2016 Rome finalist Madison Keys 2-6 6-2 6-4. Kalinina has reached her second WTA 1000 quarter final after Madrid in 2022.
Kalinina leads 3-0 in her three head-to-head clashes against Haddad Maia.
Keys broke serve in the second and sixth games to take a 5-1 lead. Kalinina pulled one break back in the seventh game, but Keys closed out the first set with her second break in the ninth game.
Kalinina went up a double break to take a 3-0 lead. Keys pulled one of the two breaks back in the sixth game for 2-4, but Kalinina broke again in the seventh game to win the second set 6-2. Kalinina broke serve at love in the first game of the third set. Keys converted her fifth break-back in the second game to draw level to 1-1. Kalinina broke for the second time in the fifth game and saved two break points to hold serve for 4-2. Kalinina served out the win at deuce in the 10th game.
“It was just about playing by point. It sounds very usual, but I think it was the key because Madison started unbelievably. I almost did not have any chances in the first set, because it was really a fast, aggressive game from her. I was like: ‘You have to do something, you have to try to play more balls, more points”, so the game would become more dynamic”.
China’s Zheng Qinwen overcame her compatriot Wang Xiyu 6-4 3-6 6-1 after 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach the second WTA 1000 quarter final of her career.
Zheng earned the first break of the match in the fifth game of the opening set to take a 3-2 lead, when Wang made a double fault. Zheng broke at the start of the second set after two more double faults from Wang. Zheng did not face a break point until the first game of the second set. Wang broke straight back in the second game after Zheng made two double faults. Zheng made another double faul to trail 2-4. Wang held on her serve to win the second set 6-3. Zheng earned a break as Wang made another double fault in the second game. Zheng broke again in the fourth game and held on her next service games to win the third set 6-1.
“At the start of the third set I said to myself: ‘Start playing your game and we’ll see what happens. Don’t focus too much on the result. I am still trying to find my game here. The serve is not strong as before so I have to adapt my game a little bit, be more consistent from the baseline”, said Zheng Quinwen.
Zheng advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarter final in Toronto last August after beating Ons Jabeur and Bianca Andreescu.
Zheng Qinwen set up a quarter final match against last year’s Madrid Mutua Open semifinalist Veronika Kudemertova, who beats Marie Bouzkova 6-2 6-2 with two breaks in each set.
Kudemertova reached three semifinals in Adelaide International 2, Doha and Madrid and two quarter finals in Adelaide International 1, Abu Dhabi, this year.
Kudemertova won 85% of her first serve points and saved her only break point she faced.
Zheng beats Kudemertova 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in the Tokyo semifinals last September.
