On Wednesday, the top two seeds in the Kremlin Cup advanced to the quarter-finals.
Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, and Garbine Muguruza, the second seed, both won their first-round matches, making their debut visits in the Russian capital a triumph.
Sabalenka, who was forced to withdraw from Indian Wells after testing positive for Covid-19, defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-1 in two hours and seven minutes.
Over the course of the match, the Belarusian blasted 47 winners while breaking the Australian’s serve five times.
“For sure, I’m happy to be here. It really feels great [to be] in Moscow,” after her win, the world no. 2 said.
“It’s a great atmosphere and really cool. It was quite a tough opponent for my first match after a break.
“Step by step, I found my range and I was feeling comfortable on the court. Hopefully, I can play even better in the next match”.
Tereza Martincova is beaten by Garbine Muguruza
Meanwhile, Muguruza took three sets to beat Tereza Martincova in the second round. After two hours and 45 minutes of play, the Spaniard prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The former world number one, who is hoping to improve her prospects of reaching the WTA Finals by winning this week, broke Martincova’s serve seven times while saving nine breakpoints.
She hit 35 wins compared to the Czech’s 24 and 39 unforced errors compared to the Czech’s 42.
“I feel happy. It’s a first victory (for me) in Russia and I’m very excited. It was a very difficult match, and I’m happy to get it.
“I think I served well in the third set and I kept attacking and doing my game.
“I got the break and I managed to hold it until the end,” Muguruza said as per reports Tennis Threads.
In the quarter-finals, Muguruza will face either ninth seed Anett Kontaveit or Andrea Petkovic. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the fourth-seeded Russian, also advanced to the Kremlin Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
In 1 hour and 40 minutes, Pavlyuchenkova defeated Bernarda Pera 6-2, 7-5. Marketa Vondrousova or Lesia Tsurenko are the next opponents for the 2021 French Open finalist.
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