STUTTGART, Germany – Major upsets dominated Friday’s quarterfinal action at the Stuttgart Open, as tennis superstars Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both saw their tournament runs come to an unexpected end, while Elena Rybakina advanced after surviving a marathon three-set match against Leylah Fernandez to earn a semifinal spot opposite Mirra Andreeva.
The clay court season began poorly for Gauff, the French Open titleholder, who fell to Karolina Muchova in a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 defeat. The third-ranked player in the world had previously dominated Muchova in all six of their encounters on hard court surfaces, but struggled with 13 forehand unforced errors while dropping her first-ever set to the Czech competitor.
Despite rallying to capture the second set, the two-time Grand Slam champion from America couldn’t maintain momentum in the decisive third set. Muchova executed perfectly when it mattered most, successfully defending against five break point opportunities while securing the lone break of the set for a crucial 4-2 advantage.
“It’s always very tough against her. She’s a tough player… I think the third set was a battle. It was very physical, as well, and I’m glad I managed the first break and then I was able to keep it going,” the 12th-ranked Muchova explained to media members.
Muchova’s semifinal opponent will be Elina Svitolina, who defeated Linda Noskova with scores of 7-6(2), 7-5 as the tournament’s fourth seed.
In another stunning result, 18-year-old Russian player Mirra Andreeva dominated Swiatek 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in their inaugural clay court matchup. Andreeva secured an early service break in the opening game, though the fourth-ranked Swiatek responded with two breaks of her own to claim the first set.
After falling behind 2-0 in the second set, Swiatek mounted a comeback to even the score at 4-4, but Andreeva maintained her composure to push the match to a third set.
“I think my baseline game was fine, and I see a progress there comparing to the last tournaments. But for sure, overall, it wasn’t enough,” Poland’s Swiatek reflected.
The second-ranked Rybakina, who won the Australian Open, endured a challenging battle against Canada’s Fernandez before prevailing 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(6) to secure her semifinal berth against ninth-ranked Andreeva.
“I was pretty negative from the beginning of the match, nothing was working, so I was just trying to play point at a time,” the 26-year-old Rybakina commented.
