Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur set up a mouth-watering quarterfinal match-up at the Madrid Open 2022 with wins over Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic on Monday.
Revenge was sweet for Jabeur to begin the day, as the eighth-seeded Tunisian scored her first win over Belinda Bencic in three career meetings to be the first player through to the quarterfinals.
In just under two hours, Jabeur overcame both the No. 11 seed and a weather delay prior to the start of the third set in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 triumph. The two played the final set of their match under a closed roof due to rain.
Following Jabeur's victory, Halep overcame American teenager Coco Gauff at a WTA 1000 for the second time this year.
After beating No.2 seed Paula Badosa in Round 2, the former World No.1 and two-time Madrid champion picked up a second win over a seeded player this week with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over the No. 14 seed.
Later, Ekaterina Alexandrova overcame Marie Bouzkova in a 3-hour thriller to reach the last-8. She will face Amanda Anisimova, who held off former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka.
Ekaterina Alexandrova won a grueling clash between qualifiers in Madrid, taking over three hours to overcome Marie Bouzkova 6-7(4), 6-0, 7-5 and reach the quarterfinals of the first clay-court WTA 1000 event of the year.
In the QFs, Alexandrova will meet Amanda Anisimova, who staved off a second-set comeback by former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka and held on for a 6-1, 6-4 victory.
( With inputs from ANI )
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