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Jessica Pegula, the top seed at the Citi Open lost her bid to defend her crown after exiting in the round-of-16. Daria Saville defeated Pegula 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 38 minutes to move into the quarters. Pegula won 80% of her first-serve points to the Australian’s 66%.
She also brought up more break point chances on Saville’s serve – 10. However, of these 10, Pegula converted only one break point even as she failed to save three of the six break points she faced. Saville finished with the match with 71 points, four more than Pegula’s 67.
Citi Open: Simona Halep's DC campaign ends
Looking to reach the semi-finals, Saville will play Rebecca Marino. Marino who beat Venus Williams in the first round backed up that win by defeating Andrea Petkovic in their second-round clash.
The Canadian won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in an hour and 53 minutes. Marino saved eight of the nine break points she faced and converted three of the 10 break points she had on Petkovic’s serve. She won 73% of her first-serve points to Petkovic’s 66%.
Anna Kalinskaya reached the quarters after her second-round opponent, Simona Halep retired mid-match due to being unwell. Kalinskaya was leading the third-seeded Romanian 7-5, 2-0 in the match at that point. Earlier in the match, after Kalinskaya had taken a 4-0 lead in the first set, Halep did well to equal the proceedings at four-all.
A third break of her serve in the 11th game allowed Kalinskaya to consolidate the break by winning the set. For a spot in the Citi Open quarter-finals, Kalinskaya will now play sixth seed Kaia Kanepi. The Estonian came from down a set to defeat Lin Zhu, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their round-of-16 match. Kanepi needed two hours and 35 minutes to secure the win for herself.