Another WTA tournament, and more seeded carnage.
This week the women are in Doha, the second and final leg of February’s Middle East swing following on from last week’s stop in Dubai.
There, in a stunning turn of events, all eight seeds lost their opening matches. And although it hasn’t quite been as dire for the top-ranked players in Doha, plenty have already waved goodbye.
One of them was Petra Kvitova, the No.5 seed stunned by 18-year-old Jelena Ostapenko.
Had Kvitova won, it could have been a Wimbledon 2014 final rematch between her and Eugenie Bouchard – but alas, the Canadian former world No.5 was also eliminated in the third round, falling to Zheng Saisai.
Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki also suffered a surprise loss in the last 16, falling to qualifier Elena Vesnina, who is currently ranked outside the world’s top 100.
Bye bye Doha! #untilnexttime
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 24, 2016
Bye bye Doha #stepbystep pic.twitter.com/3BPWknVgCv
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) February 24, 2016
Always learning. At least the hotel made me feel better… ???? pic.twitter.com/I5V9iJbhKo
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) February 24, 2016
Only half of the Doha quarterfinalists are seeded.
One of them is Garbine Muguruza, who expressed her happiness – and perhaps relief – that she has rediscovered some form after a slow start to 2016.
The No.3 seed ousted Timea Babos 6-2 7-5 to set up a last-eight meeting with Andrea Petkovic.
Vamos! pic.twitter.com/qPgzdamjCA
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) February 24, 2016
Joining her in the quarters was fellow Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, the No.8 seed who ended the run of Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky.
¡Mañana, cuartos de final de Doha! @QatarTennis quarterfinals tomorrow!! ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/WwWMTdmu0i
— Carla Suarez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) February 24, 2016
The highest seed remaining in the tournament, at No.3, is Agnieszka Radwanska.
Yet there were more pressing things on Aga’s mind than her superlative 7-5 6-1 victory over Romania’s Monica Niculescu in the third round.
Following the match came this tweet:
Yo yo, lots of u asking what my bag is that I carry on to court. It's Lilou xoxo pic.twitter.com/1XVLuAhQcK
— Aga Radwanska (@ARadwanska) February 24, 2016
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