Simona Halep had a double success at the WTA Premier Mandatory Tournament in Madrid. Caroline Wozniacki, however, suffered a bitter defeat.
On the one hand, double defending champion Halep beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-1 and 6-4. Moreover, because Caroline Wozniacki failed to make it into the top eight, the 26-year-old Romanian can no longer lose her world ranking lead this week.
Wozniacki, who lost 2-6, 2-6 to Kiki Bertens, would have had to win the event in the Spanish capital to knock Halep off the tennis throne. The Dane’s last tournament victory on clay was seven years ago. It remains a “complicated” relationship with the red ashes, as the Australian Open Queen herself says.
Halep, however, feels at home on the red background. The double cheeky open finalist has won the last 15 matches in the Spanish capital. “I’m happy that I could close the second set,” said the number one after the match. “It’s always hard to play one of the twins. Both have a strong serve and can hit the ball very hard.”
Speaking of twins: Sister Karolina Pliskova saved the family honour with a clear 6:2, 6:3 victory against US Open Champion Sloane Stephens. Spicily, it comes to a duel with the top seeded player in the quarter-finals. So Halep has a chance to eliminate two Pliskovas in a row.
Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia are also among the top eight: while the Czech Prague winner beat Anett Kontaveit in three sets, the Frenchwoman beat Julia Görges 6-2 and 6-4.
Last year’s finalist Kristina Mladenovic also wants to reach the quarter-finals. To win the ticket, however, Dominic Thiem’s girlfriend has to get rid of a prominent opponent: Maria Sharapova.
The first match of the Night Session is also in Russian. Ascender Daria Kasatkina and “Local Hero” Garbine Muguruza play on Pista Manolo Santana.
More background information about the Madrid Open can be found in our daily live blog!
Here the single tableau of the ladies in Madrid