Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and world No. 4 Elina Svitolina yesterday withdrew from the Hong Kong Tennis Open with injuries, leaving the WTA event devastated after a spate of pre-tournament pullouts and early big name exits.
Third seed Wozniacki appeared on center court just after her second-round match against Lizette Cabrera was due to start to announce that she had injured her elbow in practice and would withdraw.
“I want to apologize to everyone who came out today to watch this match,” said an emotional Wozniacki, who won the title on the same court 12 months ago.
Top seed Svitolina earlier withdrew from her last-16 match against Nicole Gibbs, citing a right groin strain sustained during a mammoth, 3-hour, 21-minute quarter-final defeat in Beijing last week to the eventual champion there, Caroline Garcia.
In the little action that did take place on court yesterday, China’s eighth seed Zhang Shuai was ousted 6-3, 6-4 by American Jennifer Brady, who is to face Gibbs in an all-American quarter-final.
That left Wang Qiang as the sole Chinese representative in the draw after she breezed past Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-4, 6-4.
Wang is to face Australia’s Stosur today for a place in the semi-finals and Cabrera, the world No. 155, has an all-Australian last-eight match against Daria Gavrilova, the seventh seed.
The only other seed remaining, sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, is to play Osaka.
In women’s doubles, Taiwanese sister Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan overcame an early stumble to cruise to a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and the US’ Shelby Rogers.
Additional reporting by staff writer
TIANJIN OPEN
AFP, TIANJIN, China
Maria Sharapova yesterday surged into the Tianjin Open quarter-finals as she pursues her first tournament victory since her return from a doping ban.
The Russian former world No. 1 defeated Magda Linette of Poland 7-5, 6-3 and is next to play Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele.
Sharapova, 30, has been on the comeback trail since April after serving a 15-month suspension for taking the banned substance meldonium.
She saw off 71st-ranked Linette in just more than 98 minutes to reach only her second quarter-final since her return to action.
“We did a really good job of holding serve in the first set,” Sharapova was quoted as saying by the WTA Web site.
“I feel like I made a few too many errors on my return game, which ultimately led to a difficult first set, but once I broke her early in that second set I played a really good aggressive game and I felt like I had the momentum in the second,” she added.
Others who advanced to the quarter-finals included China’s third-seeded Peng Shuai, Italy’s Sara Errani and the US’ Christina Mchale, who defeated sixth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-0, 6-4.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei fell to a 3-6, 1-6 defeat to China’s Zhu Lin.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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