A day after second seed Elena Rybakina exited the Bett1 Open in the second round, it was top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s turn. On Thursday, Veronika Kudermetova ousted the world no. 2, 6-2, 7-6(2) in their round-of-16 match. Kudermetova needed an hour and 39 minutes to get the win.
Kudermetova won 83% of her first-serve points to Sabalenka’s 76%. She also won 61% of her second-serve points and 62% points on return on Sabalenka’s serve. She converted three of four break points on Sabalenka’s serve and dropped her serve once across the match.
In the quarter-finals, Kudermetova will play Ekaterina Alexandrova. Theirs will be a repeat of their Libema Open showdown from last week in S’Hertogenbosch. Alexandrova, who was the defending champion in the WTA 250 tournament, defeated Kudermetova in the final to retain the trophy.
Bett1 Open: Ekaterina Alexandrova’s winning stretch widens to seven victories
Meanwhile, in her second-round match, Alexandrova took a win over fifth seed Coco Gauff. Alexandrova won 6-4, 6-0 in an hour and 15 minutes. At the start of the match, it was the American who went up an early break and led 3-1. However, Alexandrova was successful in breaking Gauff’s hold over the proceedings.
Alexandrova won 83% of her first-serve points to Gauff’s 54%. She struggled to win second-serve points but still fared better than Gauff, winning 43% to the latter’s 40%. Alexandrova faced five break points in total, of which she saved four. All four break points she saved were in the second set. She also converted five break points on her higher-ranked rival’s serve.
Maria Sakkari, seeded sixth, reached the first quarter-final of 2023’s grass season. The Greek beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 in just an hour and five minutes. Sakkari won 78% of her first-serve points to Sasnovich’s 52%. She saved all four break points she faced and converted all four break points that came her way on her opponent’s serve.
Marketa Vondrousova will be Sakkari’s quarter-final opponent at the Bett1 Open. The Czech reached the quarters after her opponent, Jule Niemeier retired in their second-round match. Vondrousova was leading 6-3, 6-5 when the German stopped the match after injuring herself post an on-court fall.
Photo Credit: Bett1 Open Twitter