WTA Spherical-up | Boulter makes Hong Kong Final 8, whereas Bouzkova advances in China and rain delays play in Mexico…

Katie Boulter reaches the Final 8 in Hong Kong, whereas two prime seeds advance in China, and 1st-round motion is delayed in Mexico due to rain…

I want I may chill out a bit bit, however I simply needed to maintain combating, and maintain doing the very best that I may. She performed some unbelievable tennis. Lots of energy, loads of finesse in her strokes. I simply needed to keep there as a lot as I probably may. I’m happy with myself at present. Katie Boulter

Hong Kong | WTA 250 Hong Kong Tennis Open

Britain’s Katie Boulter is the 2nd seed in Hong Kong, and he or she opened her marketing campaign with spectacular wins, first over Aoi Ito from Japan after which China’s Wang Xiyu in spherical 2.

The British No 1 is in stable kind, and overcame early stress towards Ito, resisting break level probabilities towards her earlier than taking the Japanese’s serve within the ninth recreation, and pocketing the primary set to like.

Boulter saved the momentum up by breaking in the beginning of the second, and he or she held her benefit, closing out the set on her first match level to win, 6-4 6-4.

Towards the left-handed Wang, Boulter continued to keep up her good kind with a convincing, albeit robust, 7-6(7) 6-4 win to achieve the Final 8.

Boulter endured a stoop after Wimbledon, producing a 6-8 win-loss file between July and mid-October when she did not win consecutive matches at any occasion, however she turned her fortunes round by deciding to play an prolonged Asian swing, reaching the semi-finals of the Tokyo WTA 500 occasion final week, and now stringing collectively two stable performances in Hong Kong towards decrease ranked opposition.

Wang, ranked No 100, has been Boulter’s solely High 100 opponent in her 5 wins over the previous 2 weeks however, by profitable matches, she is constructing confidence and gaining invaluable rating factors.

“That was fairly a match,” stated Boulter. “She’s an unbelievable opponent, she by no means lets up. Full credit score to her, she simply retains hitting and he or she’s so gifted. She made me work so onerous at present, which I’m not that pleased about to be sincere.”

Boulter navigated a marathon 78 minute opening set by which she recovered from 2-4 all the way down to drive a tiebreak towards the tall, imposing 23 year-old Chinese language, who clung on to earn herself a set level at 6-5 on the Brit’s serve.

Boulter saved it with an excellent second serve down the T, eliciting a return error from Wang earlier than edging out the breaker on her second likelihood.

Though she broke Wang early within the second, Boulter relinquished her benefit at 4-3 with an inopportune double-fault, however she righted the ship effectively sufficient within the closing 2 video games of the match.

“I’m, actually, just a bit bit too cussed with myself to let myself go,” stated Boulter. “I want I may chill out a bit bit, however I simply needed to maintain combating, and maintain doing the very best that I may.

“She performed some unbelievable tennis. Lots of energy, loads of finesse in her strokes. I simply needed to keep there as a lot as I probably may. I’m happy with myself at present.”

In her final however one event of the season, for a spot within the semi-finals, Boulter will face both the Seventh seed, Varvara Gracheva from France, or Russia’s Anastasia Zakharova, who play on Thursday.

Seventh-seeded Gracheva overcame a first-set stumble in a 2-6 7-5 6-2 win over Tatiana Prozorova of Russia on Tuesday to make it into spherical 2.

Britain’s Heather Watson, although, discovered Canadian Third seed, Leylah Fernandez, the defending champion, too scorching to deal with, and went down, 6-2 6-2, additionally on Tuesday.

Fernandez punished the Brit’s errors by changing 5 of her 7 break-point probabilities, and firing 4 aces whereas  defending 4 of the 5 break factors that she confronted.

Watson was handcuffed by 7 double-faults within the 1 hour 25 minute contest.

The Canadian, who improved her file to 1-3 towards Watson, will subsequent face Kimberly Birrell within the 2nd-round, after the Australian defeated Romania’s Ana Bogdan, 6-3 6-4.

High-seed Diana Shnaider opened her marketing campaign with a 6-3 6-3 win over Kyoka Okamura on Tuesday, firing 3 aces and profitable 26 of 32 factors on her first serve to dispatch the Japanese native in 77 minutes.

On Wednesday, Shnaider powered into the quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-1 win over Australia’s Priscilla Hon, whereas Sixth-seeded Yuan Yue from China wanted 3 units to get previous Japan’s Nao Hibino, 4-6 7-5 6-2.

Yuan got here again from 4-6, 3-5 to achieve her Sixth tour-level quarter-final of 2024.

Additionally into the Final 8 is No 9 seed Bernarda Pera from the USA, who dropped simply 4 video games towards qualifier Shi Han from China, to win 6-0 6-4.

WTAtennis.com

Jiangxi | WTA 250 Jiangxi Open

In China, No 2 seed Rebecca Sramkova breezed to a 6-1 6-1 victory over native favorite Zhang Shuai on Tuesday, firing 9 aces and benefiting from 6 double-faults to dismiss the Chinese language in 48 minutes.

Sramkova subsequent takes on one other Chinese language, Wei Sijia, who discovered her well beyond Japan’s Mai Hontama, 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Unseeded German Laura Siegemund up-ended Third-seeded Moyuka Uchijima from Japan, 7-5 6-3, on Tuesday, and met her compatriot, Tamara Korpatsch, for a spot within the the quarters on Wednesday.

Korpatsch was a simple 6-0 6-1 winner over qualifier Priska Nugroho from Indonesia, however succumbed to Siegmund, 6-4 6-4.

Siegemund advances into the quarters to satisfy Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, a qualifier, who upset No 7 seed Lucia Bronzetti from Italy, 6-4 4-6 6-2, on Tuesday, after which went the gap however prevailed over Chinese language wild-card Zheng Saisa, 4-6 6-1 7-6(6), on Day 3.

In the meantime, top-seeded Czech, Marie Bouzkova, defeated fortunate loser Yao Xinxin, 6-3 6-3, to make her fifth WTA quarter-final of the season, and can meet Kamila Rakhimova, the No 5 seed from Russia, who edged previous 19-year-old Elena Pridankina from Russia, 4-6 6-4 7-5, on Wednesday.

Zeynep Sonmez rallied for a 3-set upset of Maria Lourdes Carle, the No 6 seed on the WTA 250 Merida Open Akron on Tuesday

WTAtennis.com

Mérida | WTA 250 Merida Open Akron

On Tuesday in Mexico Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey rallied for a 5-7 6-1 6-2 upset of Argentina’s Maria Lourdes Carle, the No 6 seed, in a 1st-round match, saving 10 of 14 break factors on the best way.

Different winners on Day 2 included Italian Lucrezia Stefanini, who upset No 4 seed Jule Niemeier of Germany, 6-3 6-2, and American Varvara Lepchenko, who ousted Slovenian qualifier Tamara Zidansek, 6-2 6-2.

Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann superior to the quarter-finals by way of a walkover after Alja Tomljanovic, the Third seed from Australia, withdrew on account of a left knee damage.

Different matches scheduled for afterward Tuesday had been delayed due to rain, sending the remaining 5 1st-round contests into Wednesday.