After Tuesday's near-total rainout, Wednesday was a busy day for second-round matches at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Here's a breakdown of the day's early matches as the quarterfinal lineup at the WTA 500 clay-court event took shape:
Haddad Maia advances: No.2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6(1) victory over Emma Navarro. In the early-round clash between Top 25 players, the Brazilian took the win in 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Haddad Maia has yet to make a WTA singles final on clay, but she did post a historic result for Brazil at Roland Garros last year, where she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal.
In the quarterfinals, Haddad Maia will face No.5 seed Liudmila Samsonova, in their first meeting. Samsonova was the only player to complete a match on rainy Tuesday.
Bia on clay is🤯
— wta (@WTA) May 22, 2024
She defeats Navarro in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(1) and books her spot into the quarters!#IS24 pic.twitter.com/4gh4lI741W
Keys continues clay surge: No.4 seed Madison Keys dismissed Wang Xinyu 7-5, 6-0 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. Keys was broken in the first game of the match but never lost serve after that, prevailing in 80 minutes.
After missing the first two months of the season due to shoulder rehab, Keys has caught fire on the red clay. She is into her third straight quarterfinal on the dirt, following a Madrid semifinal showing and a run to the Rome quarters.
Keys is playing in Strasbourg for the first time in nearly a decade, but the American has had success here before, previously making the semifinals in 2014 and the quarterfinals in 2015.
In the quarterfinals, Keys will meet Poland's Magda Linette, who upset No.6 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 in just under three hours of play. Keys has a 3-1 head-to-head lead over Linette.
Vondrousova fends off upset bid: Marketa Vondrousova, the No.1 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion, held off qualifier Magdalena Frech 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 on Wednesday.
It took Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 2 hours and 13 minutes to notch the win, preventing Poland's Frech from getting her first career Top 10 win. World No.54 Frech is now 0-14 in her career against Top 10 opposition.
After splitting the first two sets, Vondrousova smashed a winning forehand return to break Frech in the first game of the third set. Vondrousova slammed a forehand winner down the line to garner a double-break for 3-0, and the Czech cruised home from there.
Vondrousova will meet Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in the quarterfinals, after Kalinina got past French wild card Fiona Ferro 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Kalinina leads Vondrousova in their head-to-head 2-1.