After ousting second seed Li Na in the third round, on top of her previous victories over Alla Kudryavtseva and seed No.32 Elena Vesnina, unseeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova continued her surge through the Wimbledon draw with a straight-set victory over 16th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. If you like it when underdogs keep progressing at big tournaments, then you have one more reason to love Barbora!
Having claimed the first set in 35 minutes on Court 12, the 43rd-ranked Czech went on to lead 3-1 in the second. However, Wozniacki broke back and leveled and the match went with serve until 5-5, even though Zahlavova Strycova had two match points in the tenth game against her opponent’s serve. Two games later, Zahlavova Strycova capitalized on her sixth match point for a 6-2 7-5 triumph and a place in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, her first final eight of a Grand Slam.
This was the first time in the Open Era that the Czech Republic had four women in the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Czech Lucie Safarova was the first to make the quarterfinals at this year’s Wimbledon, beating compatriot Tereza Smitkova 6-0 6-2. Czech No.1 Petra Kvitova is scheduled to take Court No.2 today, against Peng Shuai, and should she win, she will be Zahlavova Strycova’s next opponent. (photo: Jimmie48)
