Mertens upsets Svitolina in Charleston

Belgian Elise Mertens, the No 11 seed, moved into the quarter-finals of the Charleston Open by winning against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the No 7 seed, 6-4, 6-1 at the Family Circle Tennis Center on Thursday night.

Mertens, ranked No 30, will face Danielle Collins next.

The Belgian beat French qualifier Varvara Gracheva (6-4, 3-6, 6-2) in the previous round of the Charleston tournament.

In the previous round of the Charleston tournament, Svitolina, ranked No 17, won against Australian qualifier Daria Saville (6-2, 6-4).

Charleston WTA 500, other last 16 results (Family Circle Tennis Center, clay, USD 922.573, most recent results first):

• Maria Sakkari (3) beat Astra Sharma (LL): 6-4, 6-1
• Danielle Collins beat Sloane Stephens: 6-2, 6-2
• Veronika Kudermetova (9) beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (5): 7-5, 6-1
• Jaqueline Cristian beat Emma Navarro (10): 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
• Daria Kasatkina (4) beat Anhelina Kalinina (15): 6-1, 6-4
• Victoria Azarenka (12) beat Taylor Townsend: 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4
• Jessica Pegula (1) beat Magda Linette: 6-2, 6-2