Top-seeded German Tatjana Maria is out of the Philippine Women's Open after falling to Russian Tatiana Prozorova in the Round of 16.
Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova completed the biggest upset of the Philippine Women's so far, ousting top-seed Tatjana Maria in a close two set battle, 7-6(2), 6-4, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Wednesday.
Prozorova upended the highest-ranked player of the draw thanks to her gritty performance in the opening set.
In Set 1, Prozorova clawed back from being down 3-5, taking a crucial break to force a 5-all tie.
Maria would go down quietly though, and the German save four set points to get to a tiebreak.
Prozorova then took over, taking a commanding 7-2 win to secure the first set.
In Set 2, both players wouldn’t give an inch and the opening game reached eight deuces before Maria was able to get herself on the board first.
But Prozorova recovered nicely and controlled the pace before getting a love game to complete the upset.
In the other match, China’s Lin Zhu celebrated her birthday with a narrow win over Mananchaya Sawangkaew, 6-3, 7-6(5).
Zhu faced a quick turnaround after she played the final match on Tuesday against Lulu Sun on center court.
[RELATED: Donna Vekic makes quick work of Russian foe to reach Philippine Women’s Open quarters]
Earlier, no. 4 seed Donna Vekic marched on to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mariia Tkacheva.
Sofia Costoulas, for her part, fired off eight aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win over YeXin Ma.
Also claiming their spots in the quarterfinals were Camila Osorio and Lanlana Tararudee.
—
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.