The 2016 Ericsson Open suffered a major blow on Thursday, losing its top seed due to injury.
Despite Angelique Kerber insisting on Wednesday that she would be ready to compete in her second-round match, the elbow injury the world #2 suffered from during the first-round match forced her to pull out of the tournament, giving Lara Arruabarrena a free pass into the quarterfinals.
While Kerber’s exit was a major disappointment for the crowd, it wasn’t all that bad for Swedish tennis fans, as 2015 champion and crowd favorite Johanna Larsson made it safely into the quarterfinals, beating Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets.
The round of the last eight is completed by two Germans, as both Annika Beck and Julia Goerges won their matches. While Beck swiftly swept by Anastasija Sevastova, Goeges once again had to take the long way, winning a big three-set fight against American Bethanie Mattek Sands.
OUR PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS DAYS IN BASTAD:
- Wednesday: Top seed Kerber avoids early upset
- Tuesday: First-round action & players’ party fun
- Monday: The Ericsson Open kicks off at the Swedish seaside
Johanna Larsson..the unassuming Swede. Maybe she can repeat her home countries’ championship. Better than Dominic Thiem, who lost in the first round in his countries’ tournament in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
She is quite good actually, especially on clay. Her self-confidence is not the best, however. Probably better on the home clay 🙂