The rain-affected schedule at the Western & Southern Open forced world No.1 Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens to play two matches on Friday, as after winning their third-round encounters, they took the court for the quarterfinals, which Halep won by beating Lesia Tsurenko, while Bertens eliminated the fifth-seeded Svitolina in straight sets.
In two other quarterfinals, Aryna Sabalenka upset seed No.13 Madison Keys and eighth seed Petra Kvitova edged seed No.15 Elise Mertens.
Jimmie48‘s Friday’s gallery features both the third-round matches and the quarterfinals.
MORE CINCINNATI 2018 PHOTOS:
- Thursday: Halep completes rain-hit match against Tomljanovic + third-round action
- Wednesday: Defending champion Muguruza falls to Tsurenko in second round
- Tuesday: Kvitova overcomes Serena in second-round thriller
- Monday: Ostapenko falls to Cornet, Serena & Azarenka advance to second round
- Sunday: Goerges buys presents for children’s hospital, coaches talk to the media
- Saturday: First round of qualifying + Kerber, Kasatkina, Ostapenko, Sakkari warm up
Congrats to Kiki Bertens on her win in the finals today against Halep. Well done, Kiki! I see you going far in the sport of women’s tennis, so keep doing what you’re doing. You can even take the US Open title, champ. Let these character traits that you always display remain: beautiful/calm disposition and unwavering humility. Now, in the voice & words of Drake (let’s pretend they played his song for you when you held up the champion’s trophy, which they should have): “Kiki, do you love me? Are you riding? Say you’ll never, ever leave from beside me. ‘Cause I want you, and I need you; and I’m down for you always.” As well, Simona, keep your grind and fight going strong. You’re still #1!