Maria Sakkari and Danielle Collins are through to the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open, while top seed Ons Jabeur was upset in the second round.
Third seed Maria Sakkari was up 6-3 2-2 against qualifier Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, when the Colombian withdrew because of a right thigh injury. Sakkari is flying solo at the tournament this year, not taking any of her team with her. The Greek excitedly told Women’s Tennis Blog that she had only eaten In-N-Out burgers once since arriving in California, demonstrating self-control after proclaiming at Indian Wells that her team was keeping her away from the popular fast food restaurant. Relaxed and in good spirits, she said, “I just like my alone time.” In San Diego she’s been seeing the sites, enjoying solitary dinners, and shopping at the mall by herself.
Danielle Collins, last year’s semifinalist, beat Jelena Ostapenko in a topsy turvy 2-6 6-3 6-4 match during which the American sought a medical timeout. The 29-year-old Collins is playing both singles and doubles and feels the toll on her body. She told media that the spasms are not new to her, but “sometimes when you’re able to get treatment in the middle of the match it is able to alleviate some of the tension in that area.” Arriving at her press conference wrapped up, she shouted out the physios and said, “you can really benefit from getting some of that tape put on, it’s amazing what they can do.”
Rattling up the draw at the Barnes Tennis Center, Anastasia Potapova knocked out top seed Ons Jabeur 6-4 7-6(4). The 22-year-old from Russia stayed narrowly ahead of the Tunisian throughout the match. The world number 7 looked sluggish and uncharacteristically subdued but put up a fight. In the second set tiebreak, the world number 27 Potapova took a 0-4 lead, which Jabeur tied before losing the next two points and the match. Always gracious in defeat, the two embraced at the net and had a brief friendly chat before leaving the court.
All four quarterfinals will be played Thursday as the tournament moves rapidly toward its Saturday final.
