WTA roundup: Canadian teen Stakusic upsets top seed Ostapenko in Guadalajara

Top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko (27) from Latvia faced a surprising defeat against Marina Stakusic (19) in the round of 16 at the Guadalajara Open Akron in Mexico on Thursday, after failing to convert four match points.

The final score was 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(0). Ostapenko initially held a commanding 4-0 lead in the third set and had a match point while serving at 5-4, followed by three additional match points on her own serve at 6-5.

Stakusic, currently ranked 155th in the world, demonstrated remarkable resilience by winning the last nine points of the match, which lasted three hours and four minutes, thereby securing her first career WTA quarter-final appearance.

In her next match, Stakusic will compete against fifth-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland, who triumphed over Ashlyn Krueger of the United States with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

In other matches, French No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia advanced past Japan's Ena Shibahara with a score of 7-6(3), 7-6(5). Garcia established a 4-1 advantage in the first-set tiebreaker and maintained her composure to secure the victory.

The second set saw no breaks of serve, and despite trailing 4-3 in the subsequent tiebreaker, Garcia won three consecutive points to clinch the match on her second match point. Throughout the one-hour and fifty-minute contest, Garcia recorded 10 aces and successfully saved five out of six break points.

Garcia's next opponent will be sixth-seeded Marie Bouzkova from the Czech Republic, who comfortably defeated Italy's Lucrezia Stefanini with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

In the Jasmin Open Tunisia, German player Eva Lys achieved a significant upset by defeating top seed Elise Mertens of Belgium with a score of 1-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) in the round of 16 held in Monastir, Tunisia. Lys initially surged to a 4-0 lead in the first set, but Mertens rallied to win four consecutive games. Although Mertens briefly led 6-5, Lys managed to force a tiebreaker, ultimately winning the last three points to secure the victory.

Mertens achieved a remarkable 7-0 advantage in aces against her opponent; however, she also recorded seven double faults and managed to secure only one-third (13 out of 39) of her second-serve points.

In other matches, the seventh seed Lucia Bronzetti from Italy triumphed over Ann Li from the United States with a score of 6-4, 7-6(3). Croatian player Antonia Ruzic comfortably defeated British competitor Yuriko Miyazaki with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1.

Additionally, Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez successfully saved 13 out of 18 break points, ultimately winning against Belgian sixth seed Greet Minnen with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

SportsLigue