By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, February 1, 2018
Genie Bouchard battled by Ana Bogdan and Magda Linette fought off Johanna Larsson in a three-hour thriller in Taipei City.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Genie Bouchard battled into her first WTA quarterfinal in nine months and Magda Linette fought off four match points to join her.
Bouchard defeated Romanian Ana Bogdan, 7-5, 7-5, to surge into the Taiwan Open quarterfinals.
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The 2014 Wimbledon finalist crunched 28 winners prevailing in one hour, 48 minutes.
It is Bouchard's first Tour-level quarterfinal since she subdued Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, to reach the last eight in Madrid last May.
The Canadian wild card posted back-to-back wins for the first time since her Madrid run.
"It was a really tough match," Bouchard said in her on-court interview. "[Ana Bogdan] has a really solid game. I think we were both trying to be aggressive, trying to keep fighting. Even after losing all of those match points, I just had to keep fighting,"
The 121st-ranked Bouchard blew three match points at 5-3 in the second set as Bogdan burst back into the set.
But Bouchard, who broke serve seven times, regained control to close the match and set up a quarterfinal vs. China's Yafan Wang.
World No. 152 Wang served 72 percent dispatching eighth-seeded Pauline Parmentier, 6-3, 6-3, in 75 minutes.
Linette denied four match points in the decider edging Johanna Larsson, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3) in a gripping three hour and seven minute thriller.
Linette built a 6-1, 4-1 lead and was in prime position for a straight-sets sweep. It was an impressive comeback from Larsson, who fended off four match points in the second set then put herself in position to take the match in decider.
In a stubborn stand, Linette fought off four match points of her own to prevail.
"The score seems easy, but it was not an easy match until then," Linette told WTATennis.com. "Then, Johanna started playing much better. I didn’t go for my shots, I stayed there, I slowed down. I paid my price in the second set, and I had to find my way again.
"It was very tough, because I was a little bit injured, so I’m glad I managed to turn it around."
The world No. 60 will face fourth-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary, who stopped Slovenian qualifier Dalila Jakupovic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.