Jelena Ostapenko tops Emma Navarro for Iga Swiatek Stuttgart clash; Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula roll
Mirra Andreeva was also eliminated at the hands of Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Jelena Ostapenko will look to extend her unbeaten record over Iga Swiatek come Saturday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, as a pair of seeded competitors fell Friday.
The Latvian confirmed the latest showdown when she eliminated seventh seed Emma Navarro, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, in the second round. Over the final set, Ostapenko won 62 percent of her return points to break Navarro three times.
Up until now, Ostapenko and Swiatek have never met on a clay court. Earlier this year, the 2017 Roland Garros champion improved to 5-0 by decisively claiming their Doha semifinal, 6-3, 6-1.
Read More: Swiatek in Stuttgart—from clay court to carpool karaoke!
Ekaterina Alexandrova ousted sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, 6-3, 6-2, firing eight aces to seal her fourth Top 10 win of the season. Alexandrova is coming off a semifinal showing at Charleston’s green-clay 500-level event, where she was edged out by eventual titlist Jessica Pegula 7-5 in the third. The world No. 22 gets a shot at winning a rubber match (having prevailed in Doha) with the American, as Pegula and Coco Gauff rolled through their openers with identical 6-1, 6-1 scorelines.
Having recently supplanted Gauff at No. 3 in the rankings, Pegula went five for five on her break point chances to dispatch Magdalena Frech. The 31-year-old has won 11 of her past 12 matches, having finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open ahead of her Charleston triumph.
Read More: What does Pegula's last six weeks say about her next six months?
Like her former doubles partner, Gauff did not drop serve in overwhelming German lucky loser Ella Seidel for a last-eight encounter with 2024 French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini. The No. 5 seed defeated Jule Niemeier, 6-1, 7-5.
Quarterfinal action will commence Saturday, with the tournament observing Good Friday.