Martic rallies for a place in Last 8

● Top seed Petra Martic had to overcome a stubborn opponent in Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, in a match that lasted over two hours, to make the quarterfinal at the Palermo Ladies Open.

Palermo, Aug. 7: Topseeded Petra Martic rallied past Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 64, 6-2 to reach the Palermo Ladies Open quarterfinals Thursday in the first tournament following a fivemonth break due to the coronavirus.

“The struggle was real out there today,” Martic said after the two-hour match.”

“She’s not the type of player I like to play. She plays really fast, hits really flat and low. And especially on these (clay) courts it can be tricky,” she added.

“Overall I didn’t really enjoy myself out there. But I realised right away that it was not going to be easy and I was going to have to fight,” she said.

Martic will next face another qualifier, Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Also advancing was fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit, who also had to come from behind to defeat Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Kontaveit’s quarterfinal opponent will be Italian wild-card entry Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

In yet another three-set comeback win, Italy’s Camila Giorgi eliminated Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Players and officials for the tournament are being tested every four days for Covid-19 and one player who tested positive withdrew over the weekend. New protocols include fewer ball kids, a limited number of fans and no post-match handshakes between opponents. — AP