Romania’s Ana Bogdan secured her spot in the Japan Open quarterfinals with a commanding 6-0, 7-6 (5) win over No. 4 seed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic on Thursday in Osaka. Bogdan overcame a 3-1 deficit in the second-set tiebreak, sealing victory in just under two hours. She will next face unseeded Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.
The day was marked by upsets, as Japan’s Sara Saito defeated No. 5 seed Elina Avanesyan of Armenia 7-6 (2), 6-4. In another surprise, Australia’s Kimberly Birrell was leading 3-6, 7-5, 4-1 when No. 3 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium retired from the match. Seventh-seeded Diane Parry of France avoided the upset trend, defeating Belgium’s Greet Minnen 6-4, 6-2.
Ningbo Open
At the Ningbo Open in China, fourth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over China’s Ye-Xin Ma. Ma had her chances, leading 6-5 in the opening set and 5-3 in the tiebreak, but Krejcikova prevailed. She will face Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the next round.
Elsewhere, No. 6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil defeated England’s Katie Boulter 7-6 (2), 7-5, while No. 7 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia dispatched China’s Yue Yuan 6-3, 6-3. Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic advanced in just 77 minutes, defeating Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-1.
