Berlin favorites Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur facing each other
Tears of joy for a fan of Coco Gauff. Sorrowful tears for Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova.The range of emotions to be experienced at the ecotrans Ladies Open remains huge.
On Thursday, it was decided who had made it through to the quarter-finals in Berlin. This will be played on Friday - and once again promises women's tennis at absolute world level. On Thursday, seven top 10 players were still in the tournament. Now there are five left.
The number one seed Coco Gauff (WTA rank 2) was up to it in her first singles match on grass this year: 7:6 and 6:2 against Ekaterina Alexandrova. This strong performance was a relief for Gauff. She was almost even more emotionally moved by her encounter with a fan, who was moved to tears by this brief exchange: "It means a lot to me. I'm happy when I can give something to people." The Berlin audience loves Gauff - and Gauff loves Berlin. She soaks up everything the city has to offer. In her free time, she visits music stores and book shops and gets around on an e-scooter "on the great cycle paths here".
The relationship between Berlin and Ons Jabeur (WTA rank 10) is also characterized by mutual affection. Nevertheless, the Tunisian had to stretch herself mightily to defeat Linda Noskova 6:7, 6:3 and 6:4: "I think a lot was down to the serve. The most important thing is to always stay positive," said a happy Jabeur afterwards. She is now Gauff's opponent in the quarter-finals. In 2022, Jabeur had beaten Gauff in the semi-finals on her way to the Berlin title.
2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina (WTA rank 4) and 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova (WTA rank 6) . Both had traveled to Berlin with ambitions of winning. But now both are in completely different moods. Vondrousova had to retire in tears at 5:5 in the first set against Anna Kalinskaya. She had suffered an injury to her right hip. Tournament director Barbara Rittner is keeping her fingers crossed that the Czech will be fit again by the start of Wimbledon on July 1: "Marketa is not a player who gives up so quickly."
Before the Vondrousova drama, Elena Rybakina had beaten Veronika Kudermetova 6:4 and 7:5 in a high-class match. Rybakina will now face Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals.
World number five Jessica Pegulawill face qualifier Katerina Siniakova in the last eight. Siniakova's win over the clearly favored Chinese player Qinwen Zheng (WTA rank 8) was as surprising as it was impressive: 6:4, 6:4. Pegula, for her part, was too strong for last year's finalist Donna Vekic and triumphed 6:4 and 7:5.
Aryna Sabalenka (WTA rank 3), seeded second behind Gauff at the tournament, can also continue to dream of her first title on grass. She defeated Daria Kasatkina 6:1 and 6:4, and Anna Kalinskaya now awaits the 2024 Australian Open winner in the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals begin on Friday at 11 a.m.