Fourth-seeded Iga Swiatek overcame a slow start against another former World No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, to win 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
Poland’s Swiatek notched her 300th career tour-level win and first of the grass-court season after being down 4-1 in the first set to Belarus’ Azarenka. Swiatek converted 4 of 8 break-point opportunities and saved 4 of 6.
Top seed Jessica Pegula dispatched the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 16, while second-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini won a battle with Canadian Leylah Fernandez 7-6 (8), 7-6 (6).
Fifth-seed Emma Navarro ousted four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, 6-4, 6-4. In one last Round of 32 match, Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4.
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Czech second seed Barbora Krejcikova fought back by saving two match points with British wild card Harriet Dart serving at 5-4 in the third set and went on to win their first-round grass-court match in Eastbourne, England.
Krejcikova, the 2024 Wimbledon champion, won 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5, compiling five aces and converting 6 of 7 break points. Dart converted all four of her break-point opportunities in the match lasting two hours, 40 minutes.
Seventh seed Emma Raducanu of Great Britain dropped the first set before roaring back to defeat Ann Li 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1. Third seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia topped Brit Sonay Kartal 6-3, 7-6 (2), and sixth-seeded Peyton Stearns won in straight sets over Brit Mingge Xu 6-3, 6-4.
Australian Kimberly Birrell upset fourth-seeded Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Magda Linette of Poland retired in her match when trailing Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 6-4, 4-2. Eighth-seeded Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia won in straight sets, as did Brit Jodie Burrage. Russian Kamilla Rakhimova and France’s Varvara Gracheva went three sets to record victories.
–Field Level Media