In her third tournament back from maternity leave at the Transylvania Open, Anastasija Sevastova is already bringing the full range of her repertoire to the Hologic WTA Tour.
The Latvian advanced to her first tour-level quarterfinal since Eastbourne 2021 after No.6 seed Elina Avanesyan was forced to retire trailing 6-2, 6-7(5), 2-0 due to a lower back injury. The two players had contested a wild second set, in which Avanesyan had trailed 3-1 and saved five match points as Sevastova had served at 6-5.
The wildest moment was undoubtedly Sevastova's own first set-point save as the 33-year-old trailed 5-4. She started it with an underarm serve that caught Avanesyan off guard, proceeded to throw up a trio of high lobs and switched up play with one of her signature drop shots.
But ultimately, it was the "cruellest of finishes," as the commentator put it, for Avanesyan: a dead net cord that just dribbled on to her side of the court.
Watch full highlights: Sevastova d. Avanesyan
In the last eight, former World No.11 Sevastova will play home hope Jaqueline Cristian, who raced past Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-0 in 1 hour and 21 minutes. Even quicker was Sara Errani, who defeated No.2 seed Tatjana Maria 6-0, 6-1 in exactly an hour. Errani has lost just 14 games to Maria in five meetings overall, and maintained her dominance to reach her first indoor hard-court quarterfinal since making the 2014 Paris final.
Highlights: Errani d. Maria | Dart d. Cocciaretto | Pliskova d. Osorio
Errani will next face another former major finalist, Karolina Pliskova, who came through 6-2, 6-1 against Camila Osorio. Earlier, British qualifier Harriet Dart reached her first tour-level quarterfinal off grass and outside her home country after coming from a set and 3-0 down to upset No.5 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Head to Head
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