By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday February 2, 2023
Top-seeded Bianca Andreescu advanced in Hua Hin - she'll face Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the semis.
Photo Source: WTA Thailand Open
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday February 2, 2023
Still searching for her first WTA title since claiming the US Open crown in 2019, top-seeded Bianca Andreescu will meet Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the No.5 seed, for a spot in the semifinals at the Thailand Open in Hua Hin.
Andreescu, currently ranked 42, got past Anastasia Zakharova of Russia on Thursday, 6-2, 7-5, while Kostyuk took out Nao Hibino of Japan, 6-3, 7-6(7).
Andreescu has never met the 60th-ranked Kostyuk but knows she’ll be in for a test.
“She’s a great player,” she said of the 20-year-old, according to the tournament’s web site. “She has many tools in her toolbox that can work well against me. What I have to do is stay very focused and positive as much as I can from the start of the match till the end of the match, and I know she can get a bit in her head, so maybe I can watch out for that and use that to my advantage. I know she's a tough opponent, so I’m gonna give it my A game.”
A quality quarterfinal field is rounded out by Lesia Tsurenko, Tatjana Maria, Tamara Zidansek, Lin Zhu, Wang Xinyu and Heather Watson.
Here are the matchups for the elite eight:
35-year-old Maria will face 33-year-old Tsurenko in a matchup that first started on tour in 2009, but likely has roots deeper than that.
"It's amazing because I have the feeling I played with her even in juniors, so I know her already really long,” 63rd-ranked Maria said of Tsurenko, the current World No. 136. “But she's a great player. I mean, she had some injuries. I think that's the only reason why her ranking is not where it should be, because she's a really good player and I know that I have to play my game. I have to concentrate from the beginning and then I hope I can disturb her with my game style."
The pair have split their two tour-level meetings.
Here are all of the results from Thursday’s action:
Results - Thursday, Feb 2
R16 - [WC] [1] B. Andreescu (CAN) d. A. Zakharova 62 75
R16 - [5] M. Kostyuk (UKR) d. N. Hibino (JPN) 63 76(7)
R16 - [6] T. Maria (GER) d. D. Yastremska (UKR) 60 64
R16 - H. Watson (GBR) d. N. Han (KOR) 63 57 64
QF - H. Chan (TPE) / F. Wu (TPE) d. [1] E. Perez (AUS) / T. Zidansek (SLO) 62 64
QF - [4] L. Chan (TPE) / A. Guarachi (CHI) d. [WC] X. Han (CHN) / B. Mattek-Sands (USA) 64 64
QF - X. Wang (CHN) / L. Zhu (CHN) d. N. Han (KOR) / S. J. Jang (KOR) 63 63