Kirilenko moved into the quarters after an easy win to Roberta Vinci, 61 62. Being the tournament's favorite to win, Kirilenko still had to face some toughness, being tied with Vinci in head-to-head results before the match.
"The first set went smoothly but then I lost my concentration in the second set and she won a few games in a row," Kirilenko said. "I was afraid I might lose track but fortunately I came back and saved the match."
Home player Katarina Srebotnik didn't show hope of winning the title today, as she was defeated in straight sets by Julia Georges, 64 62. The German already had a 1-0 result in head-to-head against Srebotnik, when beating her in the first round of this year's Wimbledon. Georges was playing aggressively, and she was too much to handle for the Slovenian. Julia will next face Petra Martic in the quarters.
"I am so happy to have won this match," Goerges said. "Katarina is a great player and it's always very difficult winning against such a player, especially before her fans."
No. 8 seed Sara Errani had good results in her match against fellow Italian Mara Santangelo, winning 62 64. So far here in Potoroz, Errani has played to of her countrywoman.
"She plays very fast so she wasn't bothered by my game," said Errani about Santangelo. "But I tended to switch rhythm so she struggled. Plus the balls bounce quite high here so it's not easy to aim and find the right distance. I don't know if it was the heat, but by the end I'm sure she was bothered by my game."
Errani will now face top seed Kirilenko, and having a 1-0 lead in head-to-head against the Russian, the Italian has high hopes of winning.
The last player to reserve a spot in the quarterfinals was Elena Bovina, after winning to Camille Pin in a thrilling three-setter, 63 57 76(6), after more than three hours of play. Bovina suffered from some leg cramps, but that didn't stop her winning. She will now face No. 4 seed Anabel Medina Garrigues in the quarters.
"It was a long match and it was a little bit up and down," Bovina said. "I had a set and 5-2 and basically the match was over. Camille was a good fighter and she wasn't going to give it up. I played a few really good games and then the tie-breaker was also good."
On dealing with needing medical assistance, Bovina said: "I just started to have cramps in both my hamstrings. I didn't want to lose a tie-break for that so I called for a trainer, I took three minutes out, stretched, and it actually helped me to go through with the tie-break."
No comments:
Post a Comment