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Romanian qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse reached the quarter-finals of the Palermo Open on Wednesday. The 137th-ranked Ruse advanced after her opponent, the third-seeded Jil Teichmann withdrew ahead of their second-round match with an injury to her left thigh.
In the quarter-finals, the 23-year-old Ruse will play home player, Lucia Bronzetti. The 190th-ranked Bronzetti, who received a wildcard this week, defeated Grace Min 6-3, 6-1 in the last match of the day in the Italian city.
Bronzetti needed two hours and two minutes to complete the win.
Palermo Open: Oceane Dodin makes her mark
She won almost 84% points off her first serves with Min winning 50% of her first-serve points. Bronzetti made it look easy in the second set but she faced 10 break points as the resilient Min refused to give in to her opponent’s tactics.
For the match, Bronzetti saved nine of the 11 break points she faced while converting six of the 20 break-point opportunities she had on the American’s serve. She finished the match with 95 points to Min’s 74. This is Bronzetti’s second straight quarter-final.
Last week, she made it to the last eight of the Ladies Open Lausanne, losing to eventual champion, Tamara Zidansek, who won her first career trophy. Sixth seed Oceane Dodin reached the quarter-finals as well. The Frenchwoman ousted Vitalia Diatchenko 7-6(7), 6-4 in an hour and 54 minutes.
The match featured 30 double faults, 14 of which were hit by the winner. Dodin made good of seven of the 10 break-point chances she had on Diatchenko’s serve and saved seven of the 13 break points she faced. Dodin will next play Romanian Jaqueline Cristian for a place in the semi-finals of the Palermo Open.
Cristian defeated Qinwen Zheng 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 26 minutes in the penultimate match of the day. The 159th-ranked Cristian converted four of the eight break points she had and saved three of the four break points she faced.