Speed Post News Network
Patna : World No 15 in WTA rankings Ashleigh Barty, 22, Australia, stunned World No 1 and reigning French Open Champion Simona Halep, 27, Romania, on January 9, 2019, to enter the quarter-finals of Sydney International. Barty beat top seed Halep 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16 firing 5 Aces in the match.
Barty won 4 break points compared to 2 by Halep, the winner of 18 WTA singles titles. None of them committed any double fault. Barty won 3 games in a row in the match to 2 by Halep, who is coming back after injury lay off. Barty won 42 service points while Halep won 37.
World No 192 Timea Bacsinszky, 29, Switzerland, also entered the quarter-finals beating World No 73 Samantha Stosur, 34, Australia, the winner of US Open title in 2011, in three-sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 16. Stosur committed 8 double faults in the match to 4 by Bacsinszky. Stosur fired 4 Aces in the match to 2 by her rival. Bacsinszky’s winning percentage on both her first and second serve was slightly better than that of Stosur. Bacsinszky won 6 break points to 4 by Stosur. Bacsinszky won games in a row in the match to 2 by Stosur.
World No 2 Angelique Kerber, Germany, entered quarter-finals on January 8, 2019, beating World No 27 Camila Giorgi, Italy, 7-6, 6-2 in the Round of 16.