Barbora Krejcikova, Daria Kasatkina, and Laura Siegemund advanced to the quarterfinals at the Bank of Communications Zhengzhou Open on Thursday at the Henan Provincial Stadium Center.
Despite her victory today over Lucia Bronzetti 63 76(5), fourth seed Ons Jabeur announced that she would be unable to continue in the event due to a right knee injury.
In a statement, Jabeur said, “I will unfortunately have no choice but to retire from the Zhengzhou Open. I did my best today, but my knee won’t let me continue. I want to thank the tournament for the impeccable organization and all the fans that accompanied me and supported me during the China tour. I absolutely loved every second of it. And I can’t wait to come back next year.”
Daria Kasatkina dashed the hopes of Chinese wildcard Zhuoxuan Bai despite a spirited fightback by the local favorite. Helped on by the vocal crowd, Bai fought back from a set and 0-3 down to put herself in contention at the end of the second set. The world no.117 saved three match points, including a challenge on a call which caught the back edge of the baseline, before succumbing to the No.8 seed 62 64. Following Jabeur’s withdrawal, Kasatkina will receive a walkover to the semifinals.
“It was a tough match,” Kasatkina said. “I know this feeling when you play at home, you have this extra motivation. It was a good match, and I’m really happy to come out with the win today.”
Czech star Barbara Krejcikova put in a strong performance to defeat Petra Martic in straight sets 75 61. The seventh seed claims her fourth quarterfinal spot of 2023 and has gone on to reach the final in the three other events where she has reached the last eight (Dubai, Birmingham, San Diego). In the next round, she will face Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
“It was a really difficult match,” Krejcikova said. “I felt like even though the first set was close and I was able to get it, in the second she was still fighting until the very last point. I’m very happy with the way that I played, especially because it was my first match (in Zhengzhou). I’m very happy with the performance.”
German qualifier Siegemund overcame a 0-2 head-to-head record with Liudmila Samsonova to secure her quarterfinal place 36 62 61. In the last eight, she will face Italian Jasmine Paolina, who defeated Caroline Garcia yesterday in the last 16.
Results – Thursday, Oct 12:
R16 – [7] B. Krejcikova (CZE) d. P. Martic (CRO) 75 61
R16 – [4] O. Jabeur (TUN) d. L. Bronzetti (ITA) 63 76(5)
R16 – [8] D. Kasatkina d. [WC] Z. Bai (CHN) 62 64
R16 – [Q] L. Siegemund (GER) d. [11] L. Samsonova 36 62 61
Please find Friday’s Order of Play below.
For all the scores, results, draws, and info from Zhengzhou, click here.
