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A lucky loser Magdalena Frech is through to her first WTA quarter-final in Prague, beating Arantxa Rus 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and eight minutes. The Pole won two points fewer than the Dutch but it was enough to go through, fending off five out of ten break chances and delivering five return games from seven opportunities.
Magdalena made a strong push right from the start, taking 12 of the first 15 points to forge a 3-0 advantage. Rus saved a break point in game four and broke back in the next one, holding at love to bring the result back at 3-3.
Starting all over, Frech claimed the last three games of the set for a 6-3 and a massive boost ahead of set number two. There, she lost ground on serve completely, suffering four straight breaks and allowing Arantxa to take it 6-2, despite two service games she gave away.
They saved their best serving performance for the decider, staying neck and neck before Magdalena grabbed 12 of the final 16 points, earning a break in game nine and moving over the top with a hold at 15 a few minutes later.
Sara Sorribes Tormo stood strong against Laura Siegemund, ousting the German 6-2, 6-3 in challenging an hour and 42 minutes. The Spaniard produced better numbers behind the first serve, suffering three breaks and clinching three straight return games in both sets to control the scoreboard and advance into the first WTA quarter-final since September last year.
The German stayed in touch in the first couple of games, struggling more and more on serve and giving it away in games four, six and eight. We saw a similar scenario in set number two, with four consecutive breaks before Sorribes Tormo grabbed the crucial one in game eight, taking eight of the last nine points to remain on the title course.
In the most extended encounter of the day, world no. 330 Eugenie Bouchard battled past Tamara Zidansek 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in two hours and 52 minutes for the second quarter-final of the season.
Eugenie Bouchard needed almost three hours to beat Tamara Zidansek.
Zidansek won a thriller at Wimbledon last year 8-6 in the decider and Eugenie served revenge on clay in Prague with a rock-solid performance in the final set.
The Canadian played against only six break chances in the entire encounter, suffering three breaks and securing five breaks on the other side to cross the finish line first. The opener lasted for more than 70 minutes and Bouchard served for it at 6-5, getting broken and recovering her composure in the tie break to claim it 7-2 after four mini-breaks.
The second set was more fluent, with quick service games and a 4-1 advantage for the Canadian following a break in game four. Zidansek pulled it back three games later, with five powerful holds on both sides that led them into another tie break.
This time, the Slovenian had the upper hand, earning five mini-breaks and sending the clash into a decider. Starting all over, Eugenie dropped seven points in four service games, fending off the only break point and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net.
Tamara was off that pace, suffering breaks in games one and five and allowing the Canadian to move over the top following a hold at 5-2. It is the best result on clay for Bouchard since Gstaad in July 2018 when she retired in the semi-final.