Open Occitanie—Montpellier, France
Kovacevic Reaches Quarterfinals in Montpellier; Muchova Makes Last Eight in Linz
Thursday’s action at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France featured American Aleksandar Kovacevic reach the quarterfinals, defeating Italian Mattia Bellucci 7-5 7-6(5).
In a match that lasted one hour and 45 minutes, Kovacevic used his one-handed backhand to great effect. Hitting nine aces, winning 89 percent of his first serve points, Kovacevic broke his opponent on one occasion. The 26-year-old will next face defending champion Alexander Bublik for a place in the semifinals.
Bublik defeated Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Other results on Thursday saw Jesper de Jong upset No. 3 seed Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 7-6(2).
De Jong will next face No. 5 seed Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
Friday’s schedule in Montpellier will see top seed Andrey Rublev and No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in action.
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Singapore Tennis Open— Singapore, Singapore
No. 2 seed Elise Mertens reached the quarterfinals of the Singapore Tennis Open in Singapore on Thursday, defeating Tatjana Maria 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1.
Needing two hours and 15 minutes to advance, Mertens hit five aces, won 77 percent of her first serve points and broke her German opponent on six occasions.
Mertens will next face No. 6 seed Camila Osorio, who dismissed Dominika Salkova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Other winners on the day saw No. 4 seed Xinyu Wang, Jil Teichmann and Kimberly Birrell all reach the quarterfinals.
Friday’s action in Singapore will feature top seed Anna Kalinskaya and American Ann Li on court.
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Upper Austria Ladies Linz—Linz, Austria
Top seed and all-court player Karolina Muchova stormed into the quarterfinals of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in Austria on Thursday, defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-3.
Needing only 86 minutes to prevail, Muchova hit five aces, won 73 percent of her first serve points and broke her Spanish opponent on four occasions.
The Czech star will next face No. 6 seed Anastasia Potapova, dismissed Rebecca Sramkova 7-6(1), 6-4.
Other winners on the day featured Anna Blinkova upsetting No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4, No. 5 seed Dayana Yastremska dismissing Antonia Ruzic 7-5, 6-1, and Petra Martic from Croatia ousting No. 7 seed Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.
Friday’s action in Linz will feature top seed Muchova and No. 3 seed Maria Sakkari.
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