The Rothesay Classic saw 4 players advance to the quarter-finals on Wednesday, and leading the charge was Canadian 6th seed Leylah Fernandez, who was joined by Anastasia Potapova, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Last 8 of the WTA 250 event in Birmingham for the first time.
I went through it all for exactly this. I just really wanted to be back out here playing matches like this. And even when I was nervous and negative, I just tried to remind myself that this is what I worked for, and that I should, kind of, enjoy the moments, even though it’s really tense. So to be through now, I’m really relieved. Ajla Tomljanovic
Fernandez rallied for a 4-6 7-5 6-3 win over Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic, and will face Australia’s Tomljanovic, who also came from behind for a 6-7(6) 6-1 6-4 win against Zhu Lin of China.
No 7 seed Anastasia Potapova from Russia eliminated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, 6-3 7-5, while another Italian, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, took down American Sloane Stephens, 6-4 6-2.
2021 US Open finalist Fernandez and Golubic delivered a match of fine margins as momentum was continually being exchanged between the two.
After seizing the opening set, the Swiss was the first to attack in the second, leaving the Canadian trailing by a set and a break, but, in the wake of a total 7 breaks of serve, Fernandez ultimately prevailed after breaking for a 4th time to level the scoreline at a set apiece.
Left-handed Fernandez, a 3-time WTA Tour level champion, regained her rhythm over the remaining 43 minutes of the match, breaking to love at 4-2 before eventually grinding out her win after 2 hours and 20 minutes of play.
Ajla Tomljanovic is regaining her form on grass with a win over Zhu Lin and will meet Leylah Fernandez for a place in the semi-finals
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Tomljanovic reached her first tour-level quarter-final in almost 2 years after recovering to beat Zhu Lin in 3 sets at the Edgbaston Priory Club.
Thriving again on the grass, Tomljanovic lost a tight first set but rebounded to triumph after 2 and a half hours, scoring an early break in the decider to move ahead, and then maintained her lead for the rest of the match, converting on her 4th match point to complete the win.
Tomljanovic, a 2-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist, continues to make encouraging progress on the road back from long-term injury.
“I went through it all for exactly this,” Tomljanovic said during her on-court interview. “I just really wanted to be back out here playing matches like this. And even when I was nervous and negative, I just tried to remind myself that this is what I worked for, and that I should, kind of, enjoy the moments, even though it’s really tense. So to be through now, I’m really relieved.”
Last week the Aussie qualified for the 100K ITF event in Surbiton, where she eventually reached the quarters, and now she has advanced to the same stage in Birmingham, meaning she has won 6 of her past 7 matches on grass.
In fact, dating back to 2021, she is an impressive 19-7 record on grass.
This marks Tomljanovic’s first tour-level quarter-final since the 2022 US Open, and, having begun the season just inside the top 300, she is projected to rise to World No 170 with her latest result.
It will be the first meeting between Tomljanovic and Fernandez, who will play on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto continues her impressive run in Birmingham with a straight sets win over Sloane Stephens on Day 3 of the Rothesay Classic.
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Meanwhile, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who is making her first appearance in Birmingham, earned her place in the quarter-finals after defeating former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in straight sets.
In just her 3rd career grass-court tournament, the 23-year old win over the wild-carded American came after delivering an upset over the defending champion, and top seed, Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia, in the opening round.
Playing on the Ann Jones Centre Court, former quarter-finalist Stephens was forced to save a break point on her way to winning her opening game of the first set, but a nervy service game from the Italian provided her an early opportunity to take the lead, which she soon capitalized on.
The longest game of the set, though, saw Cocciarretto fend off 3 break points and create 4 game points to secure a crucial hold, quickly turning her fortune around as an immediate return of break followed.
From 1-4 down to a double break ahead, the Italian pocketed the set before storming ahead in the second, winning over 80% of points on her first and second serves in a seamless performance.
Cocciarretto closed out the match in an hour and 20 minutes, capping off an impressive start to the tournament by booking her first quarter-final on grass.
She will play the winner of the 2nd-round match between Czech Marie Bouzkova and Diana Shnaider from Russia, who play on Thursday.
No 7 seed Anastasia Potapova defeated Lucia Bronzetti for her place in the Last 8 at the Edgbaston Priory Club on Wednesday afternoon
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In the final singles match of Day 3, last year’s semi-finalist Anastasia Potapova finished with a straight sets win over Lucia Bronzetti from Italy to become the tournament’s 4th-listed quarter-finalist of the 2024 grass-court season.
The 7th seed is scheduled to play the winner of the 2nd-round meeting between home favorite Harriet Dart and last year’s finalist Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic, who play on Thursday.
Heather Watson (R) & Greet Minnen upset No 2 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe to open their doubles campaign in Birmingham
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In the doubles, Britain’s Heather Watson & Greet Minnen from Belgium stunned the reigning US Open doubles champions, Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe from New Zealand, the No 2 seeds, 6-3 6-2.
The pair is scheduled to face Japan’s Miyu Kato & Zhang Shuai from China in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Britons Harriet Dart & Maia Lumsden lost their opener, 7-5 7-5, to 3rd seeds Bouzkova & Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain, while fellow Brits Sam Murray Sharan & Eden Silva suffered a 6-0 6-4 loss to Taipei’s Hsieh Su-Wei & Elise Mertens from Belgium, the top seeds, in their quarter-final clash on Wednesday.
