London | WTA Roundup – Pavlyuchenkova upsets Linette in Strasbourg as Trevisan and Stephens advance in Rabat

Strasbourg, France | WTA 250 Internationaux de Strasbourg – Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova took down top-seeded Magda Linette of Poland, 6-3 6-2, in the Round of 16 at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old, currently ranked 424th in the world, defeated Linette in merely 90 minutes, winning 72% of her first-serve points to the Pole’s 60%.

She also won 9 of 17 points played on her second serve and 17 of 27 points on return of Linette’s second serve.

Pavlyuchenkova lost her serve only once in the match, in the first set, while, in the second, she saved the only break point she faced.

She also converted 5 break points on the 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist’s serve.

This is the first time in almost 2 years that the former World No 11 has reached the quarter-finals of a WTA event, the 2021 French Open runner-up having last reached the Last 8 at the Kremlin Cup in the October of the same year.

Anna Blinkova defeated Emma Navarro to reach her second semifinal of 2023 at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, and first of her career on clay.

Next, the 2018 Strasbourg champion will play 7th seed Lauren Davis for a semi-final spot after the American took a little over 2 hours to come through against Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, 6-4 3-6 6-1.

Davis won 75% of her first-serve points and 46% of her second-serve points, while she saved 3 of 5 break points she faced and converted 4 of 8 break points that came her way on the Bulgarian’s serve.

Sixth seed Varvara Gracheva also advanced to the quarter-finals, beating the only other home player remaining in the draw, Selena Janicijevic, in their Round of 16 clash.

After 71 minutes, the Russian prevailed 6-2 6-1, the World No 44 winning 77% of her first-serve points and 75% of her second-serve points.

Gracheva did not face any break point and converted 5 of 10 break points she had on the Frenchwoman’s serve.

Anna Blinkova, another Russian, defeated American Emma Navarro, 6-4 7-6(11) to reach her second semi-final of 2023, and the first of her career on clay.

Lastly, another past champion at the Strasbourg International, Elina Svitolina from Ukraine, also advanced to the quarters of the 2023 edition after receiving a walk-over from Kiwi lucky loser, Erin Routliffe, ahead of their 2nd-round match, after the New Zealander withdrew due to an abdominal injury.

As with Pavlyuchenkova, this Last 8 appearance is the first in a long time for the 28-year-old Ukrainian.

Defending champion and No 1 seed Martina Trevisan came from 3-0 down in the first set and 3-1 down in the second to edge qualifier Jana Fett in the 2nd-round of the Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem.

Rabat, Morocco | WTA 250 Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Top seeded Martina Trevisan from Italy advanced with a 7-5 7-5 win over Croatia’s Jana Fett, while two Americans recorded straight-set victories to advance to the Last 8 in Rabat, with No 2 seed Sloane Stephens beating Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos, 6-3 6-1, and Alycia Parks, seeded 4, a 6-4 6-1 winner over Kamilla Rakhimova from Russia.

Third-seeded Mayar Sherif of Egypt, though, was upset in straight sets by Argentine Julia Riera, 7-5 7-5, as was 5th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada, who was upended by American Peyton Stearns in 2 hours and 2 minutes, 6-3 2-6 6-2.

Stearns entered the match against the US Open 2021 finalist after a good run of victories in her recent appearances, reaching the finals of the Bogota Open and the ITF USA 13A.

The 21-year-old’s results allowed her to break into the Top 70 for the first time in her career, and, in the upcoming weeks, she has no points to defend, which could mean a further rise up the rankings.

The Canadian made her debut at the WTA Marrakech with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Spain’s Angela Fita Boluda, who entered as a lucky loser after Sara Sorribes Tormo’s withdrawal. Sorribes had eliminated Fernandez in the semifinals of the ITF Spain 17A just a week ago.

Fernandez, the World No 51, fought hard in the tight first set against Stearns, but the American was more effective when it came to converting break point opportunities, taking advantage of 2 out of the 3 chances the Canadian offered her.

In the second set, Fernandez quickly took the lead and did not give her opponent any openings, as Stearns’ first serve percentage dropped, and she became more erratic.

Stearns did not falter in the decider, though, as she quickly established a 4-0 lead, and although Fernandez mounted a small come-back when she narrowed the gap to 4-2 with the serve in her favour, the American remained steady and rode out the match.

In the quarter-finals, Stearns will face fellow American Stephens, who has defeated Vera Zvonareva and Babos without dropping a set so far.

Lucia Bronzetti came from a set and 4-2 down to defeat No.8 seed Tatjana Maria to move into her first tour-level quarter-final since Palermo 2022.

Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti earned a spot in the quarters with a 6-7(1) 6-4 7-5 marathon win over No 8 Tatjana Maria of Germany in nearly 3 hours, coming from a set and 4-2 down in the process.

The win moves her into her first tour-level quarter-final since Palermo 2022, made all the more remarkable since 2 months ago, in Monterrey, Maria had dropped just a single game against her.

Unseeded Julia Grabher of Austria also advanced, with a 6-1 7-6(4) win over Cagla Buyukacay from Turkey, while 6th-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan recorded an easy win against France’s Leolia Jeanjean, 6-2 6-1 .