By Chris Oddo | Friday July 15, 2016
16-year-old Rebeka Masarova joins a trio of Swiss players in the Gstaad quarterfinals.
Photo source: Ladies Championship Gstaad
Rain has not dampened the spirit of the Swiss women at the Ladies Championship Gstaad. Three Swiss battled through to reach the last eight, led by top-seeded Timea Bacsinszky.
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Bacsinszky rolled past Mandy Minella in 55 minutes, 6-2, 6-2, to book a quarterfinal clash with Sweden’s Johanna Larsson.
23-year-old Viktorija Golubic also advanced, reaching her second career quarterfinal at the tour-level and second this summer with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Russian Evgeniya Rodina.
Youngster Rebeka Masarova continues to be the biggest story, however. The 16-year-old Roland Garros Girls’ Singles champion made her WTA debut by defeating second-seeded Jelena Jankovic on Thursday. On Friday she defeated Anett Kontaveit, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2.
Masarova, ranked 797, will face Germany’s Annika Beck in the quarterfinals on Saturday, with the winner of that quarterfinal then facing either Golubic or Germany’s Carina Witthoeft.
All eight quarterfinalists are facing double-duty on Saturday in Gstaad. With rain cancelling so many early round matches, it’s the only choice to get the tournament back on schedule for a Sunday final.
The Bacsinszky-Larsson winner will face either Irina Khromacheva or Kiki Bertens in the semifinals. Khromacheva, a 21-year-old Russian, has won back-to-back matches at the Tour-level for the first time in reaching her first WTA quarterfinal.
Four of the eight quarterfinalists at Gstaad are ranked 100 or lower and two (Masarova, Khromacheva) are making their first appearance in a WTA quarterfinal.