Lyon Open: Golubic upsets third seed Garcia to reach quarters

Golubic, a qualifier ranked 129th, won nearly 80 per cent of her first-serve points and did not concede a single break point.

Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in action. (File Photo)

Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland used a strong serve to stun third-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-2 and reach the Lyon Open quarterfinals on Thursday.

Golubic, a qualifier ranked 129th, won nearly 80 per cent of her first-serve points and did not concede a single break point.

She broke Garcia's serve five times to set up a meeting with unseeded Belgian player Greet Minnen, who beat eighth-seeded Russian Arantxa Rus 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in another upset.

 

Fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic — Garcia's doubles partner when they won the Fed Cup final in a decisive match two years ago — advanced 6-4, 6-2 against Margarita Gasparyan, breaking her Russian opponent's serve four times.

She next faces seventh-seeded Paola Badosa of Spain, who won 6-2, 6-4 against unseeded Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland.

 

Clara Burel also advanced with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a match where both struggled on serve, combining for 14 breaks and seven double-faults.

Burel, who had the only two aces of the match, will play second-seeded Fiona Ferro in an all-French match.