Gavrilova into Eastbourne quarters
Daria Gavrilova has continued her dream run to reach the quarterfinals of the AEGON International in Eastbourne with victory over former French Open finalist Sara Errani.
Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK, 25 June 2015 | AAP
Daria Gavrilova has continued her dream run to reach the quarterfinals of the AEGON International in Eastbourne with victory over former French Open finalist Sara Errani.
Australia’s emerging star upset the 13th seed 6-1 5-7 6-2 on Wednesday to set up a big last-eight opportunity against unseeded American Sloane Stephens.
Unsuccessful in qualifying, Gavrilova only gained a last-minute entry to the main draw as a “lucky loser” when Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova withdrew on Sunday with a virus.
Dubbing herself a “very, very lucky ‘lucky loser’,” Gavrilova is now assured of a rise to inside the world’s top 40 in a huge confidence booster ahead of Wimbledon starting on Monday.
The 21-year-old will fancy her chances of going even deeper still in a top half of the draw featuring just one remaining seed.
Success over Stephens, who took out British No.1 Heather Watson, 6-2 6-3, would catapult Gavrilova into a semifinal with either Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska or Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.
Radwanska, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up, scored an ominous 6-2 6-1 win over in-form Czech Karolina Pliskova, while Pironkova – the second-round conqueror of Sam Stosur – eliminated Dominika Cibulkova 6-7(4) 6-4 6-1.
Eyeing a second title on England’s south coast, second seed Caroline Wozniacki rallied for a 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1 win over fellow former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Wozniacki will take on Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals after the 10th-seeded German defeated American Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-4.
But 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard is facing a fitness battle ahead of the season’s third Grand Slam after suffering an event-ending abdominal strain.
Bouchard retired while trailing Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 6-4 3-0.
The Canadian’s prospects for repeating her charge to the final at the All England Club are looking exceedingly grim.
But Bouchard vowed: “I’m going to play (Wimbledon) no matter what, even if I’m on one leg. I’ll take a few days off from serving and give it a little break and see how it goes.
“I was feeling it during the match. It just wasn’t smart for me to take a risk and potentially be out for a long time.”
Bouchard reached three major semifinals last year but has now lost 11 of her last 13 matches in a slump dating back to mid-March.
Bencic will now face Johanna Konta for a place in the last four after the British wildcard delighted home fans with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Spanish 14th seed Garbine Muguruza.