WTA St. Petersburg: Bencic loses, Kvitova withdraws
Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova , two favorites, said goodbye to the WTA Premier tournament in St. Petersburg on the quarter-finals: While Bencic lost to Maria Sakkari in three sets, Kvitova could not compete against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 14, 2020, 04:43 pm
Bencic, who reached the final tournament in the Fed Cup with Switzerland last week but surprisingly lost a single against the young Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, was beaten 6-2, 4-6 and 3-6 after a good start , Sakkari is in sixth place in St. Petersburg, Bencic had come fifth as a tournament favorite due to her world ranking position.
Kvitova, who won the 2018 event, had to withdraw due to an illness. "I didn't feel comfortable in yesterday's match and hoped that it would be better today," said the Czech after her cancellation. "I'm sorry I can't be playing in front of the fans in this beautiful city. I wish the tournament a great ending and hope to come back next year."
Elena Rybakina was the first player of the quarter-finals in St. Petersburg to secure a place in the last four. Rybakina needed almost two and a half hours against French qualifier Oceane Dodin to prevail with 6: 7 (5), 7: 5 and 6: 2. In the final round, she will face the winner of the game between Kiki Bertens and Anastasia Potapova.