The first match of the day saw seventh seed Su-Wei Hsieh defeated in a three set battle with Kristina Kucova. The rest of the matches were done in straight sets as Eugenie Bouchard and Sabine Lisicki progressed comfortably to the quarterfinals.
Hsieh's Fightback Not Enough As Kucova Wins In Three Sets
It was the only match of the day which went to a deciding set. Kucova took the first set 6-1, holding all her service games and saving four break points along the way. As Kucova got an early break, it looked to be over but Hsieh came fighting back strongly breaking Kucova twice to level the match at a set apiece. However, Hsieh's fightback lost steam as Kucova came roaring back needing just one break of serve to defeat Hsieh 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to reach her first ever WTA quarterfinal.
Bouchard Storms Into Quarterfinals
After making quick work of her opponent in the first round, the Bouchard express was in full steam today as well. She went up against Kurumi Nara, who in contrast had to tough out a three hour 19 minute marathon in her previous round.
The Canadian raced to a 3-0 lead before Nara finally got on the board. In the sixth game, Nara gave it her all in a seesaw game which saw her saving break points three times, but she eventually succumbed to Bouchard's pressure. The sixth seed wrapped up the first set in about half an hour. Bouchard broke to start the second set and was barely disturbed, facing zero points on her serves throughout the match to seal an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory in a little over an hour.
Lisicki Marches On
Third seed Lisicki was made to work in her match against 191st ranked Barbora Krejcikova. It was a tight contest from start to finish. The first five games of the match went on serve but it was the German who had to fight harder to hold her service games, saving three break points in the process. As both broke each other in the next two games, the set went 6-5 with Krejcikova serving to stay in the set. Lisicki however converted the one break opportunity she had to clinch the first set.
In the second set, after Lisicki held her serve to start, there were a succession of breaks. The German eventually closed the match at the fourth match point in a topsy turvy set to win 7-5, 6-3 and progress to her first quarterfinal of the year.
Qiang Wang Wins Chinese Affair
Qiang Wang and her fellow countrywoman Ying-Ying Duan had met nine times previously with Wang leading the head-to-head 8-1. She extended it to 9-1 with a straight sets win. Both women had chances but it was Qiang who prevailed recording a 6-4, 6-4 win over Duan and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Day Four Matches
The rest of the second round matches will be played tomorrow. The highest seed remaining in the draw, Elina Svitolina,goes up against another Japanese, this time Risa Ozaki. Naomi Broady kicks things off on centre court against Zhaoxuan Yang. Lin Zhu follows up that match with an encounter with Zarina Diyas. While over on court two, Kai-Chen Chang, who impressively knocked out top seed Roberta Vinci, faces off against Cagla Buyukakcy.