Kerber falls to Barty as top seeds tumble in Wuhan

Australia’s Ash Barty stunned Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-1 to reach the Wuhan Open quarter-finals, setting the tone for a day when Caroline Wozniacki and Garbine Muguruza also crashed out.

Barty, runner-up at Wuhan last year, staved off an early fightback from world No.3 Kerber to seal her first win over a top-10 player this year in an hour and 17 minutes on Wednesday.

At No.16, the 22 year-old Barty is the only seeded player to have reached the last eight after a succession of upsets in Wuhan.

"I think it's the best year of my career rankings wise."@ashbar96 defeats world no. 3 #AngeliqueKerber 7-5 6-1 to reach QF of #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/10Sv9z9XBi

— Wuhan Open (@wuhanopentennis) September 26, 2018

The world No.17 raced out to a 5-2 lead but could not serve out the set, opening the door for Kerber to lock up the scores at 5-5.

Kerber then held break points on Barty’s serve but couldn’t capitalise and the 16th seed made her pay with an immediate break to take the first set.

It was one-way traffic in the second as Barty quickly moved to a 5-0 lead before closing out the match on serve.

“She’s always very difficult to play against. She’s one of the best players in the world, and you have to come out here, enjoy and have fun, and try and play as well as you can,” said Barty.

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“(I played) very well here last year, and it was an amazing week with some amazing memories.”

Barty will next face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a spot in the semifinals after the Russian was a surprise winner over fifth seed Petra Kvitova.

Pavlyuchenkova, the world No.39, ended fifth-seed Kvitova’s hopes of claiming a third title at Wuhan in five years with a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki fell to qualifier Monica Puig, losing 7-6(10) 7-5 for her second defeat by the Puerto Rican this season following a loss in Miami.

The Dane has not won a trophy since lifting the Eastbourne title in June.

Up next for Puig is local hope Wang Qiang who is looking to secure back-to-back titles after winning in Guangzhou last week. Wang powered past Australian Daria Gavrilova 7-5 6-2.

Spain’s Garbine Muguruza’s patchy form this season continued as she was beaten 7-6(3) 7-6(1) by Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova in a tightly-contested clash.

It was Siniakova’s second upset in as many rounds after she knocked out defending champion Caroline Garcia on Tuesday and the world number 47 faces Anett Kontaveit next. The Estonian advanced with a 6-4 4-6 6-1 win over Zhang Shuai.

Twice champion Petra Kvitova surrendered a one-set lead before losing 3-6 6-3 6-3 to unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a result that ensured a new winner will be crowned in Wuhan.