Paula Badosa rallied from one set down to beat Claire Liu 3-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 at the Credit One Charleston Open.
Badosa had lost her previous two head-to-head matches against Liu in 2017 and 2018.
Badosa, who reached the semifinal in Charleston last year, came back from losing the first set and came through a hard-fought tie-break in the second set before taking the win in two-and-a-half hours.
Liu broke serve in the eighth game of the first set to take a 5-3 lead and served out the first set in the next game. Badosa earned a break in the second game to take a 3-0 lead in the second set. Liu broke back in the fifth game to draw level to 3-3. Badosa broke for the second time earning a chance to level the match at 5-3, but Liu broke back in the ninth game to draw level to 5-5. Liu was two points away from win four times in the tie-break, but she was not able to earn a match point. Badosa sealed the tie-break with a backhand winner on her fourth set point after 72 minutes.
Badosa cruised through to a 6-1 win in the third set with three breaks setting up a quarter final against last year’s Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.
Badosa scored her first top 20 win against Bencic in Charleston last year. The Spaniard has beaten her Swiss rival twice more in Madrid 2021 and Sydney 2022.
Bencic has reached the quarter final in Charleston for the third time in her career. The reigning Olympic singles gold medallist beat former Charleston champion Madison Keys 6-4 6-4. Keys had won two of her three previous head-to-head matches against Bencic.
Keys earned three break points for 5-3 in the opening set, but Bencic saved them to hold serve for 4-4. Bencic won the final two games with a break of serve in the ninth game to seal the first set 6-4.
Keys went up a break at 4-2 in the sixth game, but Bencic broke straight back in the seventh game with a return winner.
Bencic earned her second break in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and forced an error from Keys with a forehand to convert her first match point in the 10th game.
Magda Linette came back from one set down to upset last year’s US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Fernandez, who beat Linette in three sets in their only previous head-to-head match at 2020 Roland Garros, won the first set 6-3 with a break in the fourth game.
Linette broke serve on the only break point in the eighth game to win the second set 6-3 forcing the match to the decider.
Linette went up a break three times in the first eight games of the third set, but Fernandez broke back each time to draw level to 4-4. Linette had two game points to hold serve for 5-4, but Linette earned a decisive break. Linette had to save four break points in a 17-minute 10th game, as she was serving for the match at 5-4, before converting her seventh match point.
