YULIA Putintseva has stunned the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a remarkable come-from-behind victory over fellow Kazakh, Elena Rybakina. The world number 30 faced a 4-6 2-5 deficit against the world number 18 and 10th seed, but found a way to fight back and win 4-6 7-6 6-2 to book her spot in the quarter finals.

Rybakina’s serve went missing during the match with 12 double faults and just 50 per cent efficiency, while Putintseva was able to serve at 66 per cent, and close out her service games quicker. The match lasted two hours and 39 minutes before Putintseva could safely secure her spot in the final eight, coming a day after she defeated another top 20 player in Petra Martic. It handed Putintseva her first final eight appearance in a Premier 5 event.

“It’s good, you know,” Putintseva said post-match. “It’s better that someone thinks [that] about you than you stop fighting when you’re losing the first set. So yeah, I’m happy with this quality that I have, that I always fight until the end. I hope that I will do it as well, whenever I play.”

Now Putintseva takes on number one seed, Romanian Simona Halep in the quarter finals. The world number two took care of 29th ranked Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in straight sets, winning in an hour and 27 minutes, 7-5 6-4. Halep won 72 per cent of her first serve points and 64 per cent of her second serve points to be too powerful for her younger opponent.

“It was not easy against her because you don’t really have the rhythm. She hits it very strong and it’s tough to return her balls. After I lost the first three games, I just had to focus a little bit better and stop giving her the balls that she likes,” Halep said post-match.

“I tried to change it up a little bit, make her move, [hit balls] a little bit high. I think during the match I found some solutions that were good to win. I’m very pleased with the way I moved… and also the serve helped me a lot today. In important moments, I served very well and I won some easy games on my serve. The return was not bad because she has a very good serve.

“Big picture, I think it was a great match and gives me confidence that even in these conditions with a big hitter that I could win in two sets.”

Halep said she was looking forward to playing another young gun in Putintseva who she admired for her fighting spirit.

“She’s fighting a lot and she’s very strong physically. I know that she can play very good tennis,” Halep said. “I expect a tough battle, I expect long rallies, but I feel fit. I feel good with my body. I’m ready to face her and tomorrow, hopefully, I will play better than today.”

It was better news for another Ukrainian in fourth seed Elina Svitolina who knocked off veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets, 7-6 6-4. She broke three times to two, but capitalised off her Russian opponents’ second serve, winning at a 60 per cent clip. Now she takes on Marketa Vondrousova who overcame Polona Hercog in a tight three-set match, 1-6 6-1 7-6.

In other results, Victoria Azarenka made her way in the quarter finals after Russian Daria Kasatina had to retire during the first set tiebreak. Kasatkina suffered a right ankle injury early in the match, handing Azarenka another win and allowing the Belarusian to continue her remarkable form this season. She takes on another Grand Slam winner in the last eight, in Spaniard Garbine Muguruza who easily knocked off seventh seed Johanna Konta, 6-4 6-1.

At the bottom of the draw, second seed Karolina Pliskova won 6-4 6-3 over Anna Blinkova, while 11th seed Elise Mertens had enough to see off Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic 6-4 6-4 to set her sights on Pliskova in the quarter finals.