Hsieh Su-wei stuns Kerber to reach Dubai quarters
CGTN
["other","Asia"]
Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber suffered a surprise last 16 exit from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after being beaten by unseeded Hsieh Su-wei 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday.
Hsieh was two games away from defeat when Kerber rallied from 2-4 down to level at 4-4 in the second set, but the world number 31 won eight of the last 10 points to send the match to a decider.
The 33-year-old Chinese Taipei player ultimately scorched into the last eight, converting three break points to bagel her German opponent.
Hsieh, who recorded her first win in three attempts against Kerber, will next face Karolina Pliskova for a place in her second semi-final of the season, and first since the opening week of 2019 at the Auckland Classic.
"How did I win? I try very hard," Hsieh said after notching up her first victory over a top 10 opponent since beating Simona Halep at last year's Wimbledon.
"The first two sets, we both try super hard, so it was very close. Final set, I did little bit more. I feel more relaxed in the final set, so I gained the match pretty well."
World No. 4 Petra Kvitova overcame American qualifier Jennifer Brady 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the last eight in Dubai for the first time in six years.
Third seed Simona Halep joined Kvitova in the quarterfinals after the Romanian continued her steady progress with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.
Two-time defending champion Elina Svitolina extended her winning streak in Dubai to 11 matches after defeating two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza 6-1, 6-2.
Source(s): Reuters