THE number of contenders in the VTB Kremlin Cup continues to narrow down, as the remaining players put on a dominant display in Russia. Three top-seeded players advanced to the next stage, whilst a surprise retirement of a match amidst the action of day five of the cup. Meanwhile at the Tenerife Ladies Open, a surprise win saw a Danish top seed fall short of a win in Spain.

VTB Kremlin Cup

Romanian Simona Halep launched her way into the quarterfinals after knocking out the world number 38, Veronika Kudermetova. The 28-year-old battled Kudermetova in an intense one hour and 39-minute match up, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the 2013 Moscow champion.

Despite winning the opening set against Kudermetova 6-1, Halep went into the second set with her opponent firing back as the second set lasted over an hour. The Romanian dropped two set points but managed to crawl back to oust the Russian talent and claim the 6-1 7-6(4) victory.

Meanwhile, a match-up not seen since the US Open in 2018 occurred between Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova and Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. The match was a Moscow debut to remember for Vondroušová, with the world number 35 cementing the occasion with a 6-3 6-3 victory. Right from the first set, Vondroušová remained poised with a 2-2 against Tsurenko before 41 unforced errors off Tsurenko’s hand helped to tip a win in the direction of the Czech.

Also joining Halep and Vondroušová on the winners list was top seed 26-year-old Maria Sakkari who became the first Greek woman to move into a WTA final at the event after Russian world 101 Anna Kalinskaya retired with illness in the second set. Estonian power-hitter Anett Kontaveit also found success and moved through to the next stage after she defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic.

Tenerife Ladies Open

In a shock defeat, young gun Clara Tauson fell to experienced Chinese talent Saisai Zheng 7-6 2-6 6-4 during day six of the tournament. World number 86 Zheng displayed a stellar performance in spite of a duelling Tenerife test against this years’ Luxembourg Open winner.

Zheng’s battle against the seventh-seeded Tauson lasted a gruelling two hours and 48 minutes. The Chinese tennis star was down in the last set before powering through to book her place in the quarterfinals against world number 63 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano. Among her showcase of athleticism during the match, Zheng’s victory was encompassed by an ace and 46.2 percent of total return points won.

Italy’s Camila Giorgi cruised through her match against Montenegrin Danka Kovinic. The fourth seed overthrew the 26-year-old in a classy display 6-1 6-2. It took one hour and nine minutes for Giorgi to clinch the victory, and while she lost the first game of the match, she immediately got over her minor hurdle and dominated throughout the clash.

Also in Spain, Columbian Osorio Serrano claimed victory in her match against Egyptian Mayar Sherif 6-4 6-2, requiring an hour and 16 minutes to complete the sweep, while dutch talent Arantxa Rus took an hour and 23 minutes in her battle with Belgium’s Greet Minnen to secure a shot at the title.

Picture credit: VTB Kremlin Cup