Thursday at the 2016 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix had plenty of drama in store as the tournament’s remaining second-round matches provided fans with plenty of exciting tennis.
Two of the day’s matches were particularly dramatic, starting with Petra Kvitova’s duel against Monica Niculescu. The Romanian had the the Czech double Wimbledon champion on the ropes, failing to convert match points at the end of the second set.
Instead, Kvitova forced a decider that ended in favor of the Czech #1, earning Kvitova a spot in the Stuttgart quarterfinals, a stage she hadn’t made in recent years, following several disappointing performances on the German clay.
The day continued with the tournament’s first major upset as Germany’s Laura Siegemund continued her miracle run in Stuttgart in style. After fighting her way all the way through qualifying, Siegemund upset Simona Halep in straight sets, sending the Romanian fourth seed packing, joining Angelique Kerber as the second German in the quarterfinals.
Andrea Petkovic won’t join the German duo in the round of the last eight, following a dramatic match against top seed Agnieszka Radwanska. Petkovic won the first set against the Pole, but slipped on the baseline early into the second set. The fall caused two of Petkovic’s lower vertebrae to lock up and the resulting back pain limited her movement, which allowed Radwanska to turn the match in her favor.
The day ended in an even more disappointing fashion for the crowd as Ana Ivanovic failed to win her match against Karolina Pliskova, sending another fan favorite in Stuttgart packing before the quarterfinal stage.
