Number 10 seed Danielle Collins needed seven match points to beat Jil Teichmann 6-3 7-6 (7-2) to reach her first quarter final since last March at the Adelaide International 2.
Collins reached the Australian Open final and two quarter finals in Miami and San Diego last season.
Collins fended off two break points in the eighth game of the opening set, but never dropped her serve and broke twice in the fifth and ninth games to seal the first set 6-3. The US player won four consecutive games from 1-3 down in the second set to take a 5-3 with two breaks in the sixth and eighth game.
Collins was not able to serve out the win. Teichmann fended off five match points from 0-40 down on her serve in a six-deuce 10th game to draw level to 5-5. Collins won six of the first seven points to race out to a 6-1 lead to close out the win on her second match point.
Reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic beat qualifier Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-3 improving the record in her head-to-head matches against her Russian opponent to 3-0. Bencic broke twice in the third and ninth games to win the first set 6-3. Both players traded breaks twice in the second set. Bencic earned the decisive break in the eighth game to close out the second set 6-3.
Former world number 9 Paula Badosa edged past seven-time Grand Slam quarter finalist Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5 in 1 hour and 23 minutes to seal her spot in the quarter final. Badosa hit 22 winners to just 8 unforced errors.
Badosa opened up a 2-0 lead with an early break in the second game. Kanepi broke straight back in the third game for 1-2. Badosa earned two breaks in the fourth and sixth games at deuce to ease through to a 6-1 in the opening set.
Badosa earned a break point at 4-4 in the second set with a backhand volley winner and converted it after a wide backhand by Kanepi. Kanepi broke straight back in the next game, as Badosa made a double fault when she was serving for the match. Badosa broke for the second time to take a 6-5 lead and served out the win on her second match point.
Badosa scored two back-to-back wins over Estonian players ranked inside the top 40 this week after beating Anett Kontaveit in the first round.
Badosa drew level to 1-1 in her two head-to-head matches against Kanepi.
The Spanish player set up a quarter final match against Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Amanda Anisimova 6-4 7-5. Haddad Maia needed just one break in the first game to win the opening set 6-4. Both players traded breaks in the first two games of the second set. Haddad Maia sealed the win with a decisive break in the 11th game. Haddad Maia beat Anisimova for the first time in their three head-to-head matches.
Number 5 seed Daria Kasatkina edged past 2021 Roland Garros Barbora Krejcikova 6-2 7-5 in 1 hour and a half to advance to the quarter finals. Kasatkina drew level to 1-1 in her two head-to-head matches against Krejcikova.
Kasatkina fired six aces and converted four of her seven break points. The Russian player raced out to a 4-0 lead with a double break. Krejcikova pulled one break back in the fifth game for 1-4. Kasatkina closed out the first set 6-4 with her third break in the eighth game. The second set went on serve until the 12th game, when Kasatkina sealed the win with a break.
Kasatkina set up a quarter final match against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who won the tie-break of the first set 8-6 before Zheng Qinwen withdrew from the match due to a left thigh injury. The Czech player came back from 3-5 down and saved three set points in the tie-break. Kvitova is unbeaten in her three matches in the 2023 matches. Kvitova beat her Russian rival 6-4 6-0 in their only head-to-head match at the 2018 Madrid Mutua Open.
