Quarterfinal field was rounded out on Wednesday at the Sydney International and world No.1 Simona Halep is not in it. The Romanian was rusty in her first match of the 2019 season and lost to Australia’s top-ranked player Ashleigh Barty in straight sets.
Barty’s quarterfinal opponent will be tenth seed Elise Mertens, who followed up her 7-6(4) 2-6 6-2 victory over qualifier Katerina Siniakova in the first round with a routine 6-3 6-1 win over Anett Kontaveit on the same day.
Yesterday Sloane Stephens overcame a first-set bagel to win the second and third set in tiebreaks, but today the American was bageled by Yulia Putintseva in the decider, falling 3-6 7-6(4) 6-0 in the second round. Putintseva’s quarterfinal opponent will be seventh seed Kiki Bertens, who received a walkover on Tuesday when Garbine Muguruza withdrew from the event.
Timea Bacsinszky and qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich are the third quarterfinal pair, advancing with three-set triumphs over wildcard Samantha Stosur and qualifier Priscilla Hon, respectively.
The last player to enter the final eight was fifth seed Petra Kvitova, who battled past midnight to beat Hsieh Su-wei 7-6(2) 6-2. The Czech will next play fellow multiple Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber, who moved into the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
MORE SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL 2019 PHOTOS:
- Tuesday: Kerber reaches quarterfinals, Kvitova & Stephens win openers
- Monday: Muguruza beats compatriot Suarez Navarro in the first round
