It was a bad day to be a seeded player at the BRD Bucharest Open. Not one of the three seeded players in action today will see the quarterfinals. Just in case you missed it …<\/p>\n
Top seed Anastasija Sevastova was handed a devastating blow by qualifier Patricia Maria Tig. Much to the delight of the home crowd, though perhaps not for the tournament organizers, Tig bounced the defending champion in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. The 24-year-old Romanian hasn\u2019t played a WTA level event in two years. The Sevastova serve completely abandoned her today, allowing Tig four breaks of serve (one thanks to Sevastova\u2019s own double fault). The Romanian had 31 winners and 20 unforced errors, while the Latvian had 27 winners to 27 unforced errors. It was a clean and commanding game played by Tig who has gained considerable confidence in her return to tour level play.<\/p>\n
The number three seed, Veronika Kudermetova, retired in Thursday\u2019s match, sending Italian qualifier Martina Di Giuseppe on to the quarterfinals. The nature and extent of injury is unknown. After a stellar 6-2 first set win, Kudermetova retired at 4-5 in the second set. We\u2019ll keep you updated on the Kudermetova injury.<\/p>\n
An ankle injury in the second set forced the #7 seed Aliona Bolsova to retire. Yet, it remains uncertain that the Spaniard could have staged a comeback after a first set blow out by Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech turned in a stellar performance with 12 winners and a single unforced error. An accomplished doubles player, Krejcikova is now hitting her stride on the singles side. Rising from outside the Top 200, Krejcikova now sits at World #132.<\/p>\n
Three seeded players have stayed alive in Bucharest. The #2 seed, Viktoria Kuzmova, the #6 seed, Laura Siegemund and the #8 seed, Kristyna Pliskova are in search of their maiden BRD Bucharest Open title. How will they fare against some unexpected rivals? Here\u2019s a look at the quarterfinal bouts and predictions on who\u2019ll punch their ticket to the semifinals.<\/p>\n
Head to head: <\/strong>No history<\/p>\n Viktoria Kuzmova hasn\u2019t dropped a set en route to the singles quarterfinals. Her path to the doubles semifinal hasn\u2019t been quite so straightforward. Partnered with Kristyna Pliskova, who she may well face in the singles final, have been pushed to the decider in each of their doubles matches. The in-form Slovenian will not have an easy outing against a dominating Elena Rybakina.<\/p>\n Elena Rybakina has faced tough opponents on her way to the quarterfinals. It took 25 games for Rybakina to edge past Paula Badosa Gibert in the opener. Then, Russian annihilated wild card Jaqueline Cristian, dropping a single in a steamrolling victory. Undoubtedly Kuzmova will be the unseeded Russian\u2019s biggest challenge yet. It\u2019s hard to deny that Rybakina has the level of play and the weapons to put up a fight. But, I just don\u2019t see it being enough to upset the #2 seed.
\nPrediction: Kuzmova in 3<\/em><\/p>\n