ROUND of 16 results at Monterrey and St. Petersburg are almost complete, with the Russian WTA 500 tournament producing some remarkable results that put the tournament and its upcoming quarter finals in the history books. Meanwhile in Mexico, with just two matches complete thus far, we take a look back at the outcome of yesterday’s incomplete results.

In Monterrey, Zheng Saisai completed a clean sweep of compatriot Zhu Lin 6-1 6-2, dominating the stats sheet on her way to the 91-minute victory. Zheng hit three aces and cleaned up on serve, winning 67.6 per cent of first serve points and 70 per cent of second serve points off a 65 per cent clip. American eighth seed Ann Li followed suit with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Tamara Zidansek, with a relatively clean and simple encounter coming in just one hour and 15 minutes. Cleaner on serve and converting five of seven break points, Li realistically never looked like losing.

In yesterday’s results, Canadian Leylah Fernandez reigned supreme in a 6-1 6-4 sweep of Kristina Kucova, taking advantage of the Slovakian’s error-rate and winning 85.3 per cent of her first serve points in an excellent 67-minute showcase. Meanwhile, Sara Sorribes Tormo heads into the quarter finals by default following Kaja Juvan‘s walkover prior to the match start.

MONTERREY ROUND OF 16 RESULTS: 

[3] Zheng Saisai (CHN) defeated Zhu Lin (CHN) 6-1 6-2
[8] Ann Li (USA) defeated Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 6-4 6-3
Viktorija Golubic (SUI) v. Lauren Davis (USA)
Nina Stojanovic (SRB) v. Anna Kalinskaya (RUS)

Leylah Fernandez (CAN) defeated [LL] Kristina Kucova (SVK) 6-1 6-4
[7] Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated [Q] Kaja Juvan (SLO) W/O

Results at St. Petersburg continue to skew the way of the home-grown talent, with four more Russians joining the quarter finals and making it an extraordinary seven Russian of eight competitors in the next round. Two all-Russian Round of 16 encounters guaranteed two more added to the tally, but it took hefty wins from Daria Kasatkina and wildcard Margarita Gasparyan to make it a clean sweep. The seven-Russian final is a new record, with the previous Russian record six at Moscow in 2005, and before that in 1993 when seven Americans made up the final eight at Oakland.

A three-hour and eight-minute marathon between fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anastasia Gasanova set the tone for the day, with the 241st ranked 21-year-old Gasanova getting the bragging rights after just about handing Pavlyuchenkova the first set 6-1. But despite hitting seven double faults and trailing many of the stats, Gasanova proved she was capable of pulling off the unthinkable with the 1-6 7-6(8) 7-6(4) result not coming easy. In just her second main draw WTA Tour appearance, the qualifier proved she belongs here.

A tough fight from Kamilla Rakhimova saw second seed Veronika Kudermetova challenged until the very end, with the higher ranked competitor ultimately coming away with the chocolates following a hard fought two hour and 53 minutes encounter. Whilst Rakhimova stole back the second set after a tightly contested first, it was Kudermetova who leaned on her experience and 10 aces to reign in the 19-year-old in the third and take out the 7-5 6-3 7-6(5) victory.

It took a huge comeback effort from Kasatkina in her matchup with Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, with the 5-7 6-3 7-6 encounter going down to the wire in another long battle, going the whole hog in two hours an 49 minutes. Neither player cut corners as the Russian trailed and Belarusian commanded control, with Sasnovich hitting 46 winners but failing to utilise the momentum when serving for the match at 6-5 in the final set. Kasatkina took her chances where she could, narrowly serving better and taking advantage of Sasnovich’s error rate. Meanwhile, wildcard Gasparyan ultimately came away with the quickest and most straightforward victory of the day, but it was anything but easy as her Czech opposition in Katerina Siniakova continuously broke back and fought hard in the one and a half hour, 6-4 6-4 result.

ST. PETERSBURG ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[2] Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) defeated Kamilla Rakhimova (RUS) 7-5 3-6 7-6
Anastasia Gasanova (RUS) defeated [5] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 1-6 7-6 7-6
[8] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR) 5-7 6-3 7-6
Margarita Gasparyan (RUS) defeated Katerina Siniakova (CZE) 6-4 6-4