FIVE seeds and last year’s reigning champion remain in the 2020 WTA Nature Valley Open fantasy tennis tournament, while over in Stuttgart, just two seeds are left standing following another day of upsets on grass.

Turning the attention to Nottingham, seven of the eight seeds were on court after winning their first round matches, but by the end of the day, only five remained. Reigning champion Caroline Garcia and compatriot Kristina Mladenovic flew the flag for France to make their way into the quarter finals. Garcia toppled third seed Belinda Bencic 6-2 7-6, while Mladenovic got over fourth seed Petra Martic, 3-6 7-6 6-4.

It was much better for the top two seeds as both Petra Kvitova and Bianca Andreescu defeated their respective opponents. The Czech number one seed won 7-6 6-4 against American Coco Vandeweghe, while Andreescu knocked off Belgian qualifier Yanina Wickmayer 6-4 6-3. It was mostly a one-sided day for the winning seeds, with last year’s runner-up Donna Vekic also winning in straight sets, 7-5 6-2.

In the remaining results, sixth seed Maria Sakkari won 7-6 7-0 over Stefanie Voegele whilst Tatjana Maria handed a third Swiss player a defeat, winning 6-2 6-3 against qualifier Viktorija Golubic. Chinese eighth seed Shuai Zhang was the other player through to the quarter finals with a come-from-behind three set win, 3-6 6-3 7-6. In the quarter finals, Mladenovic and Maria face off, while Sakkari takes on Garcia. In the other quarter finals, Kvitova locks horns with Zhang, whilst at the bottom of the draw, Andreescu plays Vekic.

NATURE VALLEY OPEN ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 7-6 6-4
[2] Bianca Andreescu (CAN) defeated [Q] Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-4 6-3
Caroline Garcia (FRA) defeated [3] Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-2 7-6
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) defeated [4] Petra Martic (CRO) 3-6 7-6 6-4
[6] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 7-6 6-0
[7] Donna Vekic (CRO) defeated Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 7-5 6-2
[8] Shuai Zhang (CHN) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 3-6 6-3 7-6
Tatjana Maria (GER) defeated [Q] Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-2 6-3

At Stuttgart, it was absolute carnage with three of the remaining five seeds ousted from the competition, including number one seed and tournament favourite, Alexander Zverev. Fresh off a maiden Grand Slam win at Roland Garros, Zverev hoped to carry on that success in his home country, but went down to Croatian Marin Cilic in a straight sets defeat, 6-1 6-2. He was joined by third seed Gael Monfils in an equally disappointing loss, with the Frenchman out courtesy of a 6-3 6-2 defeat at the hands of big-serving American John Isner.

The other top four seeds restored the balance somewhat with Daniil Medvedev easily accounting for Lucas Pouille 6-3 6-1, while Matteo Berrettini got up in a come-from-behind win against Sam Querrey. Fellow Italian seed Fabio Fognini was not as fortunate as Berrettini, losing to Milos Raonic in three sets, 6-3 4-6 6-4.

In the other results, Argentinian wildcard Juan Martin del Potro kept the good times rolling with a 6-2 6-2 triumph over Gilles Simon, while Australian John Millman and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez also won through to a quarter final. Millman defeated German wildcard Dustin Brown 2-6 7-6 7-5, while Lopez toppled Argentinian Guido Pella 6-1 6-1.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s quarter finals, Medvedev takes on Raonic and Berrettini faces Lopez of the last remaining seeds. In the other two matchups, del Potro clashes with Cilic and Isner meets Millman.

STUTTGART OPEN ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

Marin Cilic (CRO) defeated [1] Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-1 6-2
[2] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) defeated Lucas Pouille (FRA) 6-3 6-1
John Isner (USA) defeated [3] Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-3 6-2
[4] Matteo Berrettini (ITA) defeated Sam Querrey (USA) 1-6 6-3 6-2
Milos Raonic (CAN) defeated [8] Fabio Fognini (ITA) 6-3 4-6 6-4
[WC] Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) defeated Gilles Simon (FRA) 6-2 6-2
John Millman (AUS) defeated [WC] Dustin Brown (GER) 2-6 7-6 7-5
Feliciano Lopez (ESP) defeated Guido Pella (ARG) 6-1 6-1