Young guns on the march

CiCi Bellis, just 18 and a relative novice on red clay, stunned defending champion Timea Bacsinszky to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA event in Rabat, Morocco.

And she wasn’t the only rising star to enjoy a significant victory on Wednesday.

At the concurrent claycourt event in Prague, 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko upset No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki while 20-year-old qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia, a qualifier, trounced fourth seed and last year’s finalist Sam Stosur.

Ostapenko, 19, saves match point to beat Wozniacki in 3 in Prague
CiCi Bellis, 18, saves match point to beat Bacsinszky in 3 in Rabat

— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) May 3, 2017

Bellis, playing in just her third professional match ever on red clay, saved a match point to beat Switzerland’s Bacsinszky in a match that stretched longer than three hours.

In the quarters she’ll face fellow American Varvara Lepchenko.

Ostapenko, meanwhile, engaged in a similarly-epic match against Wozniacki, needing six match points to finally close out the Dane 5-7 6-3 7-6(5).

Ostapenko saves match point to edge Wozniacki 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5)!

Books a place in #PragueOpen Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/bjpbiGEbdQ

— WTA (@WTA) May 3, 2017

Ostapenko clubbed 70 winners to Wozniacki’s 21 to set up a quarterfinal against fellow 19-year-old Ana Konjuh, who overcame 17-year-old Marketa Vondrousova in two tight sets in the last 16.

At the same tournament, Brazil’s Haddad Maia sent Stosur packing, dropping just five games in a 78-minute rout.

Having come through three rounds of qualifying, Haddad Maia is on a five-match winning streak and next faces Kristyna Pliskova.