Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open featured eight third-round matches that defined the tournament’s quarterfinal field which includes, as Courtney Nguyen noted on Twitter:
- Three former champions — Simona Halep (2x), Petra Kvitova (2x) and Maria Sharapova
- Three current clay champions — Kiki Bertens (Charleston), Karolina Pliskova (Stuttgart) and Petra Kvitova (Prague)
- Two young guns — Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina
- One local favorite — Carla Suarez Navarro
Our Jimmie48 started the day by photographing top seed Simona Halep‘s 15th consecutive victory in the Caja Magica, as the Romanian defeated Kristyna Pliskova, the Czech who sported the Lotto Summer Twice II Tank and Skirt while awaiting to launch the new Batik collection that I talked about yesterday. Karolina Pliskova took the court shortly afterwards, beating Sloane Stephens in straight sets and setting up a quarterfinal with her twin sister’s conqueror.
Caroline Wozniacki was stunned by Kiki Bertens, who will play Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, as the Russian beat Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. Carla Suarez Navarro stopped qualifier Bernarda Pera and will next face Caroline Garcia, who eliminated Julia Goerges in the third round.
Daria Kasatkina fought past Garbine Muguruza and the local crowd to advance to the quarterfinals where her opponent will be Petra Kvitova, who triumphed against Anett Kontaveit.
MORE MUTUA MADRID OPEN 2018 PHOTOS:
- Tuesday: Continuation of second-round action, Suarez Navarro thrills home crowd with epic Svitolina upset
- Monday: Sharapova & Wozniacki victorious, Pliskova eliminates Azarenka in the second round
- Sunday: Halep, Wozniacki, Azarenka, Sharapova, Muguruza ease through the first round
- Saturday: First round kicks off, Kontaveit eliminates Venus
- Friday: Qualifying action, practice sessions, players’ party
