Former World No. 4 Sofia Kenin advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in four years by defeating No. 6 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-5 at the Guadalajara Open. While surviving 36 winners (and nine aces) from Ostapenko’s racquet in a high-calibre two-setter that lasted one hour and 44 minutes, Kenin hit 19 winners to only three unforced errors, tying her overall record against the Latvian to 2-2. Kenin will next face Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the quarterfinals. Ostapenko only committed 25 unforced errors in total, but even with a 3-0 lead in the second set, she was unable to win the match. She also missed all three break points in the eighth game as well as six in a game with seven deuces on Kenin’s serve that decided the match. Kenin defeated Fernandez in their lone previous encounter, winning 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the 2020 US Open. Other top-half players who qualified for the quarterfinals were Caroline Garcia, the third seed, and Caroline Dolehide, another American. Garcia defeated Hailey Baptiste, a third American, 7-5, 6-4, while Dolehide defeated No. 8 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 6-2.
Maria Sakkari beats Camila Giorgi
The No.2 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece eased into the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open after dispatching Italy’s Camila Giorgi in their Round of 16 clash. Sakkari needed just over an hour to register a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory over Italian. Sakkari will next face Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in the quarterfinals. Sakkari won in just 66 minutes, increasing her lead over Giorgi, who is ranked 56th, to 4-0. Against Giorgi, Sakkari has never suffered a set loss of more than three games.
