THERE were two huge scalps on day four of the Stuttgart and Istanbul fantasy tournaments, with the respective first seeds both going down in straight sets to the dismay of fans. 

Yulia Putintseva put on an impressive show at Stuttgart, downing first seed Czech Karolina Pliskova in a stellar 7-5 6-3 outing. Putintseva had a tough task ahead of her facing the Czech star and had a rough start conceding the first couple of games before regaining control to draw even, with the pair well matched in the first and a real test of who could play better on the defence. But where Pliskova impressed in the first, only dropping the set in the tiebreaker, she well and truly dropped the ball in the second, eventually going down 7-5 6-3.

Of the four seeds competing on day four it was Pliskova and Belinda Bencic who went down to their unseeded opposition, with Belgian Elise Mertens consistent to a tee against the Swiss talent. Bencic is usually a strong competitor fighting all the way, but she didn’t seem her usual self out on court, missing that fighting spirit and speed around the court as she fought to stay in touch with Mertens. Mertens well and truly took advantage of that, running out victor in straight sets, 6-3 6-4. 

Both Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova proved strong as ever, with the fourth and seventh seeds both reigning supreme over their respective opposition. Svitolina had a real slump in the middle of her 80 minute match against Croatian talent Donna Vekic, not gaining a single game in the second but was fortunate to get away with it after replicating a stellar first set in the third, 6-2 0-6 6-2. It was a real testament to Vekic that she could bounce back and win the second so comfortably but could not commit, while Svitolina will need to ensure this issue doesn’t come back in a match against a tougher opposition.

The final game saw Kvitova down Alize Cornet after the French competitor came out strong early, just unable to compete for the entire match against Kvitova’s powerful swing. With Pliskova out of the race, Kvitova will be eagerly looking to be the last woman standing and go back to back at Stuttgart after the 7-6 6-0 win.

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At Istanbul it was a similar story for first seed Serena Williams, with the veteran going down to Montenegrin opposition Danka Kovinic in straight sets. But it wasn’t smooth sailing and Williams is never an easy defeat, taking both sets to tie-breakers before Kovinic took the win 7-6 7-6. It was a stellar match with both players putting everything out on the court, with Kovinic showing some real star power on her preferred surface to grab one of her better wins on the tour.

Fellow seeds Madison Keys and Maria Sakkari both head through to the quarter finals after solid wins, with Sakkari knocking out Italian high flyer Elisabetta Cocciaretto after a stellar first set set up a 6-0 4-6 7-5 victory. The Italian did her bit in the battle despite the slow start, driving home a second set victory but it was not enough, having to play out a real defensive game on her end and ultimately run down by the Greek fifth seed.

While Keys heads through to the quarters off the back of a straight sets win, it was not made easy by her Swiss competition Stefanie Voegele. Voegele was a tough beat with a strong start, winning the first couple of games before Keys fought her way back but unfortunately from then on was really on the back foot. Despite taking both sets to tiebreakers, Voegele was unable to get a game clear and ultimately could not fight the American fourth seed in the 7-6 7-5 loss. The final match was between unseeded talent in Darya Kasatkina and Ajla Tomljanovic. Kasatkina came out strong in the 6-4 7-5 victory, and while Tomljanovic had a better second set she was another who just could not edge ahead in the second to drag out the match. 

The quarter finals begin tomorrow seeing both halves of each draw come together to play off, with six seeds playing off at Stuttgart while unseeded talent will hope to put on a show at Istanbul.

STUTTGART ROUND OF 16 RESULTS: 

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) defeated [1] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 7-5 6-3
[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR) defeated Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-2 0-6 6-2
Elise Mertens (BEL) defeated [5] Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-3 6-4
[7] Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Alize Cornet (FRA) 7-6 6-0

ISTANBUL ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

Danka Kovinic (MON) defeated [1] Serena Williams (USA) 7-6 7-6
[4] Madison Keys (USA) defeated Stefanie Voegele (SUI) 7-6 7-5
[5] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-0 4-6 7-5
Darya Kasatkina (RUS) defeated Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-4 7-5