Charleston Open: Paula Badosa marches onward; Aryna Sabalenka stunned

The Charleston Open lost its top seed, Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday in the pre-quarter-final. Amanda Anisimova, the 15th seed took down the former world no. 2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes.

Sabalenka hit 10 double faults across the match, twice as many as Anisimova’s. Both players struggled with their serves, Sabalenka dropped hers five times while Anisimova was only able to save two of the six break points she faced. In the quarter-finals, Anisimova will play fellow American, Coco Vandeweghe.

Meanwhile, Vandeweghe came through a derby for the second straight round against the sixth seed, Jessica Pegula. Vandeweghe needed two hours and 16 minutes to post a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory. This is Vandeweghe’s first win over a player ranked in the top-20 in almost four years, going back to 2018. The contest between her and Anisimova will be the first match between the two.

Charleston Open: Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys fail to advance to last-8

Ninth seed Madison Keys also lost in the third round on Wednesday. Belinda Bencic, the 10th seed claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Keys in an hour and 34 minutes. In the quarter-finals, the Swiss will play the second seed, Paula Badosa.

Badosa came from a set down to beat American Claire Liu, 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-1 in two hours and 30 minutes. The Spaniard’s match against Bencic will be their fourth meeting with the former winning all three of their previous matches, including in the second round in the 2021 edition of the Charleston Open.

Third seed Karolina Pliskova also crashed out in the pre-quarters. Ekaterina Alexandrova ousted the Czech, 6-3, 6-1 in 62 minutes. Next up for Alexandrova is Magda Linette who beat Kaia Kanepi, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in their round-of-16 match.

Earlier, Linette who’d to play her second-round match on Thursday ousted the seventh-seeded Leylah Fernandez, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 36 minutes.

Fourth seed Ons Jabeur and Anhelina Kalinina will play each other in the quarter-finals of the Charleston Open. The Tunisian beat Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 6-2. The Ukrainian came through a tough encounter against 12th seed, Alize Cornet, 7-6(5), 7-5.