In singles, three of the top four seeds remain, though the top two seeds were forced to save match points yesterday.
Top-seeded Sofia Kenin saved a match point in the second set against Yulia Putintseva, coming back to win 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. No.2 seed Elina Svitolina overcame two match points in the third set tiebreak against Ekaterina Alexandrova, surviving 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(8). The other highest seeds remaining, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, are yet to drop a set through three rounds. This sets up some blockbuster matchups for the last three days of the tournament.
Sofia Kenin (1) vs. Maria Sakkari (9)
Both of their previous matches have gone three sets, and both have gone to Kenin. They played at Wimbledon and the US Open in the summer of 2018. It will be interesting to see if that pattern continues today, as both women have evolved their games considerably two-and-a-half years on. Unlike Kenin, Sakkari has not been tested on her way to this quarterfinal. She is yet to drop a set, and yesterday struck 33 winners against Garbine Muguruza, who managed only five winners of her own. And the 25-year-old from Greece has prevailed in her last two matches against top five opposition, with wins over Elina Svitolina and Belinda Bencic last year on hard courts. Kenin is a bit lucky to still be alive in this tournament. Not only was she down match point yesterday, but two rounds ago, she was down a set against Kirsten Flipkens when the Belgian was forced to retire due to injury. So while the Australian Open champion hasn’t been at her best this week, perhaps these escapes will allow her to play more freely today. Based on her 2-0 record against Sakkari, and the perseverance she continues to display, Kenin is the slight favorite today despite Maria’s stellar form.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Aryna Sabalenka (4) vs. Elena Rybakina (6). Sabalenka is on 12-match winning streak, and Rybakina reached five finals in last year’s abbreviated season. Their only previous meeting was 16 months ago in Wuhan, where Sabalenka prevailed in three sets.
Elina Svitolina (2) vs. Veronika Kudermetova. Their only encounter was in Moscow two Octobers ago, with the 23-year-old Russian pulling off the upset 7-5 in the third.
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs. Marta Kostyuk. They also have only met once, with the Spaniard defeating a then-16-year-old Kostyuk in straight sets at Wimbledon in 2018.
Three of the four doubles quarterfinals will also take place on Monday. Most notably, it’s the US Open champions Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva vs. Jennifer Brady and Garbine Muguruza.
Full order of play is here.
