No. 2 seed Simona Halep leads the first four players to earn quarter-final spots at Rogers Cup presented by National Bank on Thursday. In a thrilling, hard-hitting duel that produced phenomenal tennis, Halep advanced past No. 13 seed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 5-7, 7-4 in nearly two and a half hours.
Halep, who was again buoyed by a loud Romanian cheering section at Aviva Centre, will next meet either Alize Cornet or reigning Rogers Cup champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals.
Roberta Vinci was the first player to book her spot in the quarter-finals. The Italian took just 78 minutes to defeat Daria Gavrilova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to earn her place in the final eight. She is now awaiting her next opponent, which will be either world No. 1 Serena Williams or No. 16 seed Andrea Petkovic.
Belinda Bencic is on a roll at Rogers Cup. The Swiss teenager ousted hard-serving Sabine Lisicki in three sets 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(3) to advance to the final eight. Bencic took an early lead by handing Lisicki a breadstick in the first set, but the German battled back to take the second, which prompted a frustrated Bencic to smash her racquet. The third set was a seesaw battle, with Bencic saving a match point before rebounding to take the match in a deciding tiebreaker. Her quarter-final foe will be either No. 5 seed Ana Ivanovic or qualifier Polona Hercog.
Lesia Tsurenko also continued her run, as she defeated Carina Witthoeft 6-3, 6-4. Tsurenko, who is currently ranked world No. 54, rose up through qualifying and will next face either Victoria Azarenka or No. 15 seed Sara Errani.
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