May 8, 2021
Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty of Australia outlasted Petra Kvitova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Barty needed one hour, 48 minutes to defeat the Czech to improve to 11-1 in three-set matches she’s played in 2021.
“It’s just always staying in the fight,” Barty said. “Always staying in the hunt and never letting it slide away. That certainly doesn’t guarantee results, doesn’t guarantee success. It guarantees you give yourself the best chance to do what you do and to figure it out and to find your way.”
Barty will face Paula Badosa in the semifinals. The Spaniard upended No. 8 seed Belinda Bencic 6-4, 7-5 in one hour, 49 minutes. Bencic committed 29 unforced errors in losing to Badosa for the second consecutive time.
“I have to be honest, I was very nervous today,” Badosa said. “Because sometimes these matches are a little bit tricky when you played her two, three weeks ago and you think in your head that you have that opportunity to make a semifinals. I was quite nervous, but I’m quite happy that I could control all the nerves and I could play my game quite good.”
Fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the semis after Elise Mertens retired in the second trailing the Belarusian 4-0. Sabalenka took the first set 6-1.
Sabalenka will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) winner over Karolina Muchova of Czech Republic. The Russian needed nearly two hours to advance.
L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo
Seventh-seeded Nina Stojanovic fell to Italian Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the Round of 16 at Saint-Malo, France.
Stojanovic was broken six of nine times in the loss.
In other action, Aliona Bolsova came back from a set down to defeat Oceane Dodin of France 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 in two hours, 39 minutes. No. 6 seed Arantxa Rus fell to France’s Harmony Tan 6-4, 6-2. Fifth-seeded Viktorija Golubic defeated Greet Mennen of Belgium 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (2). Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova downed Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
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