Lyon Open: Clara Burel beats Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach maiden QF



by ABBEY JOHNSON

Lyon Open: Clara Burel beats Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach maiden QF

The last of the round-of-16 matches were played at the Lyon Open on Thursday. Clara Burel notched yet another career milestone as she defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5, 2-6, 6-0 in two hours and two minutes. This is the 19-year-old’s first WTA quarter-final.

The match itself was erratic featured 14 breaks of serve but when it came to the decisive moments, the youngster showed better composure and showing as compared to her more-established opponent. Burel finished with 92 points for the match to Sasnovich’s 80.

In the quarter-finals, the French wildcard will play fellow countrywoman and second seed Fiona Ferro.

Lyon Open: Upsets dot the second half of the draw

Greet Minnen and Viktorija Golubic will play each other in the other quarter-final line-up in the bottom half of the draw.

The Belgian upset eighth seed Arantxa Rus in their second-round match. Minnen trailed by a set before making a comeback and claiming a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win in two hours and nine minutes. The Swiss qualifier also scored an upset en route to reaching the last-eight.

Golubic ousted the third seed Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-2 in just 64 minutes. The match’s proceedings were as one-sided as the score-line reflected. Golubic won 78% points on her first serve to Garcia’s 53% and 60% of her second serve points to the French player’s 20%.

She also converted five of nine break points while facing none on her serve. In total, Golubic won 63 points while Garcia won 34. In the top half of the Lyon Open draw, fourth seed Kristina Mladenovic and seventh seed, Spain's Paula Badosa will play each other for a place in the semi-final.

The Frenchwoman defeated Margarita Gasparyan 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 19 minutes in the second round. Mladenovic also converted four of the five break points she had on the Russian's serve. Badosa, meanwhile, won against Swiss Stefanie Voegele 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 20 minutes.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich Greet Minnen Viktorija Golubic