French Open 2018 Women’s Singles Quarter-Final Matches Lineup: Maria Sharapova vs Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber, Big Clashes to Watch Out For
At 31, Sharapova is the oldest player in the draw and also the most successful one. She has lifted Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy on two occasions in 2012 and 2014.
Injuries and pull outs loomed over the Day 9 of 2018 French Open. The biggest newsmaker was Serena Williams after she pulled out of the tournament right before her clash with arch-rival, Maria Sharapova. The walkover by 23-grand slam-winning American tennis star meant Sharapova made to her first quarter-final since making a comeback after serving the 15-month lengthy doping ban. The 31-year-old Russian player’s opponent in the Round of 8, Garbine Muguruza of Germany also had an easy fourth-round match after Lesia Tsurenko was forced to retire injured at 2-0 down in the opening set. Women’s singles quarter-final matches lineup is complete with Simona Halep vs Angelique Kerber, Sloane Stephens vs Daria Kasatkina and Yulia Putintseva vs Madison Keys forming other three fixtures.
[28] Maria Sharapova vs [3] Garbine Muguruza
Fans were waiting for Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams’ clash right from the start of the year’s second grand slam. In fact, the 36-year-old new mom on tour had served fiery salvos by taking a significant dig at content pertaining to Sharapova’s autobiography Unstoppable: My Life So Far. However, in the end, there was no match with Serena opting to withdraw from their fourth-round match due to the pectoral injury. She picked the muscle pain during her third round match with Germany's Julia Georges.
"I've unfortunately been having some issues with my pectoral muscle," said a visibly disappointed Serena Williams at a press conference in Roland Garros. "Right now I can't actually serve, so it's kind of hard to play when I can't physically serve." She added, "It's very difficult because I love playing Maria (Sharapova). It's a match I always get up for. It's extremely disappointing but I made a promise to myself that if I'm not at least 50 percent, I shouldn't play."
Coming to Garbine Muguruza, Sharapova’s next round opponent, the two-time grand slam winner also made to quarter-finals without breaking into a sweat. The 24-year-old Spaniard advanced to the last eight after her Round of 16 competitor, Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko sustained a leg injury and was forced to retire from the match.
[1] Simona Halep vs [12] Angelique Kerber
Top seed Simona Halep continues to demolish her opponents with her red-hot form. The Romanian beat Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-1 to advance to her third quarter-finals at Roland Garros. The 2014 and 2017 finalist will face two-time grand slam winner Angelique Kerber of Germany in the quarterfinal match on June 6. Kerber also had it easy as she brushed aside the challenge posed by Caroline Garcia, beating the seventh seed in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. This is 30-year-old’s second time in the Round of 8 in French Open, last time being in 2012.
[10] Sloane Stephens vs [14] Daria Kasatkina
While Serena Williams’ challenge might have ended in an unfortunate pull-out, American representation continues with Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys making to the last eight. The reigning US Open champion, Sloane defeated Estonian tennis player Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-0. The 25-year-old will next play 14th-seed Daria Kasatkina, who beat in-form No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-6, 6-3.
Yulia Putintseva vs [13] Madison Keys
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan equalled her best Roland Garros performance by making to the quarter-finals. The unseeded 23-year-old defeated 26th seed Barbora Strycova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 and will now be playing Madison Keys, one of the two American players remaining in French Open draw. Keys beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-1, 6-4 in the last round and the 23-year-old looks confident to continue her dream run on the clay court.
At 31, Sharapova is the oldest player in the draw and also the most successful one. She has lifted Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy on two occasions in 2012 and 2014. If she manages to get past Garbine Muguruza, a former champion in Paris, it opens the door for Russian tennis star to get her third French Open and sixth major title overall. For now, let us enjoy two quarter-final matches, [10] Sloane Stephens vs [14] Daria Kasatkina at Suzanne Lenglen and Yulia Putintseva vs [13] Madison Keys at Philippe Chatrier, both games to be played on June 5.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2018 02:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).