Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko saved 7 of 10 break points on Monday while posting a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 upset of No. 8 seed Daria Kasatkina to reach the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
It marks the third time that the 20th-seeded Ostapenko has reached the final eight in Rome. She also did so in 2018 and 2021.
After losing the second set, Ostapenko came out strong in the third and rolled through the set in 29 minutes. She broke the Russian’s service three times while winning 62.5 percent of her return points.
Kasatkina had seven double faults against just one ace.
Ostapenko will face either Paula Badosa of Spain or Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. The two unseeded players were slated to play Monday night, depending on whether the rain plaguing the event lets up.
No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan converted 73 percent of her first-serve points while notching a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Czech Marketa Vondrousova. Rybakina had a 4-0 edge in aces and 28-13 in winners.
“I’m happy to stay aggressive,” Rybakina said. “There were some moments it was up and down but overall it was a good match, good serving from me. For sure now I need as many matches as I can to be more confident at the French Open.”
Rybakina will next face either top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland or No. 21 Donna Vekic of Croatia. Those two were also waiting to see if the rain would subside Monday night.
American Madison Keys, the No. 19 seed, had her time in Rome reach an end as No. 30 Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Kalinina is 3-0 all-time against Keys.
“I think it was just about playing point by point,” Kalinina said afterward. “It sounds very unusual, but I think it was the key, because Madison started today unbelievably.
“I almost didn’t have any chances in the first set, because it was really sort of a fast, aggressive game from her.
Kalinina next faces No. 12 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. Haddad Maia notched a 6-3, 6-3 win over another South American, qualifier Camila Osorio of Colombia.
No. 11 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 27 Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic. Kudermetova won 85.2 percent of her first-serve points in the 79-minute match.
Kudermetova will next face No. 22 Qinwen Zheng, who recorded a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 win over Xiyu Wang in an all-Chinese affair.
–Field Level Media