World number three Elena Rybakina and fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula ground out wins at the Adelaide International Wednesday to book their spots in the quarter-finals.
Coming off the back of crushing Aryna Sabalenka to lift the Brisbane International title on Sunday, top seed Rybakina had to battle hard to get past Spain’s Cristina Busca 6-3, 7-5.
The Russian-born Kazakh, aiming for a deep run at the upcoming Australian Open, will face either Veronika Kudermetova or Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the semi-finals.
Pegula rallied from a slow start to overcome Bernarda Pera and set up a quarter-final against 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pav-lyuchenkova.
The second seed needed two-and-a-quarter hours to win the all-American battle 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. “I stayed relaxed and tried not to get frustrated. I want to keep improving and have a good mindset,” said Pegula. “It’s a brand new year and I want to find my confidence for the Australian Open.” Pegula has made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in each of the past three tournaments.
Pavlyuchenkova defeated Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to keep her tournament hopes alive.
Laura Siegemund, part of Germany’s United Cup winning team, advanced past Romanian Ana Bogdan 6-4, 7-5 with either Anna Kalinskaya or Daria Kasatkina awaiting her in the last eight.
Mweanwhile, Latvia’s former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko proved too good for France’s Caroline Garcia, coming through 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 and will next play Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
In men’s action, top seed Tommy Paul scored an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 win against qualifier Alex Bolt, while fellow American and third seed Sebastian Korda saw off a stiff challenge from Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-6 (12/10). They will play Briton Jack Draper and Australian Chris O’Connell respectively in the quarter-finals. “The first match of the year, you never really know what to expect,” said Paul. —APP
