Karolina Pliskova edged Bianca Andreescu 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7) at the Berlin Open on Wednesday to reach her second quarterfinal of the year.
The fourth-seeded Pliskova, who hit 17 aces against Kaia Kanepi in the first round, added 12 more against Andreescu, though she had to fight back from a break down in the third set before prevailing in 2 hours, 11 minutes at the grass-court tournament.
The 30-year-old Pliskova is bidding for her first title of the year. She was the runner-up at Wimbledon a year ago.
The seventh-seeded Coco Gauff got off to a winning start with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) first-round victory over fellow American Ann Li.
Gauff hit five aces and converted five of her 10 break point opportunities. She next faces 20-year-old Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu for a place in the quarterfinals.
Daria Kasatkina rallied to beat Russian compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 for her quarterfinal place. The sixth-seeded Kasatkina next faces Daria Saville or Maria Sakkari, who were scheduled to play later.
Also, Belarusian player Aliaksandra Sasnovich ended home favorite Andrea Petkovic’s participation with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Petkovic upset Garbiñe Muguruza on Tuesday.
Top-seeded Van Uytvanck eases into Veneto Open quarterfinals
Top-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium needed just 45 minutes to ease into the quarterfinals of the Veneto Open, beating compatriot Ysaline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-2.
She will next face Ylena In-Albon, who beat Swiss compatriot Susan Bandecchi 6-3, 6-3.
Third-seeded Lucia Bronzetti and fifth-seeded Arantxa Rus were eliminated. Bronzetti lost 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Harmony Tan of France and Romanian player Ana Bogdan defeated Rus 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Tan will play Bogdan in the quarterfinals.
The Veneto Open is taking place in Gaiba, a town of less than 1,000 inhabitants — making it the smallest town in the world to host a WTA tournament.
It is the first WTA tournament played on natural grass in Italy and organizers are using former football fields for the courts. The host tennis club has been nicknamed “Gaibledon” in homage to Wimbledon.
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