Barty wins hard-fought match over Rogers, Kvitova and Muguruza exit Volvo Car Open

Top seed Ashleigh Barty moved into the quarter-finals of the Volvo Car Open in Charleston with a three-set win over Shelby Rogers while two-time Grand Slam winners Petra Kvitova and Garbine Muguruza exited in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Barty extends winning streak to eight

World No 1 Barty was pushed all the way by 52nd ranked Rogers, with both players trading breaks in the final set before the Australian prevailed 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4.

The victory extends Barty’s winning streak to eight matches having won last week’s Miami Open.

Barty won 82 percent of first-serve points and sent down 10 aces to get the edge on the American, who saved eight of 13 break points throughout the match.

“The conditions are difficult. It’s pretty quick,” Barty said in her on-court interview post-game.

“Shelby was able to control the centre of the court for a lot of the match. It was about trying to get control when I could. She’s an exceptional player, it’s always a fight no matter what surface or where we are in the world. It’s always one that I enjoy.”

The No.1 seed moves on with an ace @ashbarty secures the last spot in the quarterfinals defeating Rogers, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.#VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/iAoZjtkZSe

— wta (@WTA) April 9, 2021

Barty will play Paula Badosa, ranked 71st in the world, for a spot in the semi-finals after the Spaniard beat Caty McNally 6-3 6-3.

Kvitova and Muguruza bow out of Charleston

Third seed Kvitova was one of the two major casualties on Thursday, losing 6-4, 6-1 to Montenegrin Danka Kovinic.

The first set was tightly fought before Kovinic pulled away as Kvitova‘s errors mounted.

“We both have pretty big serves and she’s very good hitting from the baseline,” Kovinic said after the match. “Today it was the key that I tried, and did it really well, to take her pace of the ball and use her energy.”

Another upset in Charleston!

🇲🇪 @DankaKovinic takes down No.3 seed Kvitova to reach the #VolvoCarOpen quarterfinals for a second time pic.twitter.com/1CnwhZMpYB

— wta (@WTA) April 8, 2021

Sixth seed Garbine Muguruza also bowed out with an injury, despite leading 6-0, 2-2 against 11th seed Yulia Putintseva.

Muguruza laboured for a few games after a medical time-out before retiring with a left leg injury. Putintseva will next face Kovinic for a spot in the last four.

Up 6-0, 2-2, Muguruza is forced to retire through injury 🤕@PutintsevaYulia progresses to the #VolvoCarOpen quarterfinals ➡️ pic.twitter.com/M37KuZYhlR

— wta (@WTA) April 8, 2021

Seeds Ons Jabeur, Veronika Kudermetova and Coco Gauff also progressed to the last eight, while former US Open winner Sloane Stephens won in straight sets against Ajla Tomljanovic.

Jabeur needed three sets to defeat France’s Alize Cornet 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, and will next meet Gauff, who overcame fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6. Kudermetova defeated Kurumi Nara 6-0, 6-3 to set up a showdown against Stephens.

Colombian teenager Maria Osorio Serrano reaches Bogota quarter-finals

Meanwhile, at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota, seventh seed Tereza Martincova was knocked out, going down 6-3, 6-3 to Colombian teenager Maria Osorio Serrano in the second round.

Fiesta in Bogota 🥳

🇨🇴 @CamiOsorioTenis reaches another quarterfinal on home soil with her first career top 100 win!#CopaColsanitas pic.twitter.com/3JBYoPtgzf

— wta (@WTA) April 8, 2021

On the outdoor clay courts, fifth seed Tamara Zidansek moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Giulia Gatto-Monticone, who scored a controversial win over Astra Sharma in the previous round, while Harmony Tan beat Daniela Seguel.