On Thursday, Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova were the final two top seeds to kick off their 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open campaigns.
The French Open champion & the US Open finalist met very different fates. While Muguruza got her sweet revenge on Anastasija Sevastova, beating the player that ended her US Open hopes in straight sets, Karolina Pliskova’s stay in Tokyo is already over.
The US Open finalist was visibly out of steam and unprepared for her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, having only practiced once all week due to the extreme weather. The result was a comprehensive straight-set beating, giving Pliskova at least a few days to catch a breath after having played plenty of tennis for the past four weeks.
Thursday’s highlight was undoubtedly the first match of the day though, as Yulia Putintseva & Magda Linette played a three-hour three-set epic that saw Linette make a late match comeback to snatch a big win from Putintseva, rewarding herself with a quarterfinal match against Caroline Wozniacki.
Other quarterfinals will include Monica Puig vs. Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbine Muguruza vs. Elina Svitolina, as well as local favorite Naomi Osaka, who’s looking to make her first-ever WTA quarterfinal against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
PHOTOS FROM PREVIOUS DAYS AT THE 2016 TORAY PAN PACIFIC OPEN:
- Wednesday: Puig & Osaka progress at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
- Tuesday: Kimono fun and matches under Ariake Coliseum’s roof on another rainy day
- Monday: Naomi Osaka and Monica Puig progress on a rainy day
