No. 1 seed Caroline Garcia of France overcame a tough first set to defeat Peyton Stearns 7-6 (4), 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of Tennis in the Land on Tuesday in Cleveland.
Garcia won 25 of 30 first-service points (83.3 percent) and finished with a 10-4 edge in aces over the American up-and-comer, but she had to overcome a 5-3 deficit in the first set and save a set point before taking the lead. Stearns saved two set points in the 12th game to force the tiebreaker, where Garcia won the final three points before taking control of the second set.
Garcia’s next opponent will be China’s Lin Zhu, who took down Austria’s Julia Grabher 6-4, 6-1. Zhu converted five of seven break-point opportunities while saving break point six out of eight times.
Xinyu Wang of China upset 11th seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals, while in the round of 32, Germany’s Tatjana Maria outlasted Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in an hour and 51 minutes.
The final second-round match Tuesday night will pit Canadian Leylah Fernandez against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, who on Monday upset Czech No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.
–Field Level Media