Yuliia Starodubtseva, who entered the week on a six-match losing streak, is through to the quarterfinals of the Abierto GNP Seguros event in Monterrey, Mexico.
The 26-year-old Ukrainian upset seventh-seeded Janice Tjen of Indonesia 6-4, 6-3 in the second round on Tuesday.
Starodubtseva got to her first career WTA final in April, when she lost to Jessica Pegula for the title in Charleston, S.C. However, since winning her first-round match at Nottingham, England, in June, Starodubtseva had fallen in the opening round of five consecutive tournaments before beating Austria’s Lilli Tagger to open the Monterrey event.
On Tuesday, Starodubtseva finished with a 5-0 edge in aces and converted four of her five break-point opportunities.
France’s Diane Parry also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-4, 7-6 (3). In a late-night second-round match, the Czech Republic’s Nikola Bartunkova outlasted Taiwan’s En-Shuo Liang, a lucky loser from qualifying, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4 in 2 hours, 43 minutes.
In first-round action, No. 8 seed Spaniard Cristina Bucsa, Hungary’s Panna Udvardy, Uzbekistan’s Maria Timofeeva and the Czech Republic’s Darja Vidmanova earned straight-set wins.
–Field Level Media
