The top four seeds all in the quarterfinals - Tatjana Maria out

Local hero Tatjana Maria put up a brave fight but in the end Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia was simply too strong for the Porsche Team Germany player. A surprise was the elimination of one of the top favourites, Coco Gauff. Four Top 10 players will be in action in the quarterfinals of the long-standing Stuttgart tournament.

Stuttgart A thrilled crowd and tight matches on the courts – four Top 10 players were in action on Thursday in the round of the last 16 at the 46th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The spectators in the Porsche Arena all got their money’s worth, even though local hero Tatjana Maria was knocked out. Playing well, the Porsche Team Germany player dug deep against Caroline Garcia but was unable to reward herself. In the end, it was the Frenchwoman 7-6 (5), 6-4 that came out on top. ‟I had my chances but unfortunately couldn’t take them. It’s a real pity,” said the disappointed 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist. ‟It was nevertheless nice to see that I can keep in touch with the top players on the WTA Tour. It gives me confidence for the coming weeks.”
 
‟Tatjana plays with a lot of variety and reads the game extremely well. It makes it tricky to play her,” said the No. 4 when praising her opponent. ‟I’m all the more pleased that I came through in two sets.” In her bid to secure a semifinal berth, she will take on Anastasia Potapova on Friday. The world No. 24 caused an upset when beating one of the favourites, the American Coco Gauff, in two straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. ‟I like playing on clay, especially indoors. It’s my favourite combination,” said the 22-year-old who won the WTA tournament in Linz in February.
 
In the day’s first Centre Court match in the Porsche Arena, Karolina Pliskova was kept on edge right up to the final rally against Donna Vekic from Croatia. However, the Czech held her nerve in the tiebreak to run out a 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) winner after 2 hours 20 minutes. ‟It wasn’t my best match. I just hoped I wouldn’t lose both tiebreaks,” said the 2018 Stuttgart winner. ‟For me, it’s super important that I win the tight matches in the end. It gives me confidence for upcoming challenges.”
 
Awaiting the 31-year-old in the quarterfinals on Friday (not before 6.30 pm) is the world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The 2020 and 2022 French Open champion gave the Chinese Qinwen Zheng no chance when cruising to a 6-1, 6-4 win. ‟I had to be focussed right from the start, especially because I was still a bit rusty after my injury lay-off,” said last year’s winner from Poland. ‟On the whole I’m very satisfied. The more matches I play, the quicker I get back to top form.
 
Like last year, Paula Badosa has also progressed to the last eight. The Spaniard had little trouble in defeating her countrywoman Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-2 on Court 1. ‟I played a really good match and am very satisfied with my performance,” said the former world No. 2. ‟I’m glad to have finally found my game again. The quarterfinals give the 25-year-old the chance to enact revenge for last year’s semifinal defeat against Aryna Sabalenka. The good friends will meet in Friday’s first match at mid-day. ‟It’s always tough when we play each other. Aryna’s form this year has been  incredible. I will have to be wide awake the whole time.”
 
Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) will be up against the No. 3 seed Ons Jabeur in her quarterfinal match. She profited from the injury enforced retirement of the Wimbledon champion and Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) with the score at 6-1, 3-1.


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