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Patna : World No 161 in WTA rankings and a qualifier Vera Zvonareva, 34, Russia, stunned World No 5 Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, in the Round of 16 of Kremlin Cup, at Moscow, Russia, on October 17, 2018, to enter the quarter-finals of the tournament. Zvonareva beat Pliskova 6-1, 6-2 in the Round of 16. Kremlin Cup is a premier tournament on WTA tour played on indoor hard courts.
Pliskova served 5 Aces in the match to 3 by Zvonareva. But, Zvonareva won 5 break points to just 1 by Pliskova. Zvonareva also won 5 games in a row in the match.
Zvonareva has won 12 WTA singles titles and was World No 2 on October 25, 2010. She had reached Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2010. She had also reached Australian Opeb semi-finals in 2009 and 2011.
World No 31 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, also entered the quarter-finals of the tournament defeating World No 10 Kiki Bertens, Netherland, the fourth seed, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the Round of 16. Bertens served 6 Aces in the match to just 1 by Sasnovich. Bertens, however, committed 8 double faults to 4 by Sasnovich. Sasnovich won 6 break points to 4 by her rival.
World No 11 Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia, also entered the QF of the tournament defeating World N0 48 Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the Round of 16. Sevastova won 6 break points to 5 by Putintseva. Sevastova will play Zvonareva in the QF.
Qualifier and World No 101 Ons Jabeur, 24, Tunisia, beat World No 8 and 2017 U S Open Champion Sloane Stephens, USA, in the Round of 16 in a massive upset in the tournament. Jabeur beat Stephens 6-3, 6-2 to enter the QF of Kremlin Cup. Jabeur won 4 break points to 1 by Stephens. Jabeur also served 3 Aces in the match besides winnings 3 games in a row.
World No 21 Anett Konatveit, Estonia, beat World No 42 Kristina Mladenovic, France, 6-2, 7-6 to enter the QF of the event. Kontaveit won 4 break points to 2 by Mladenovic. Mladenovic served 5 Aces to 2 by Kontavdeit.