Sharapova rediscovers her form to reach quarter-finals of Tianjin Open in China

Maria Sharapova reached her second WTA Tour quarterfinal since her doping ban, at the Tianjin Open.

The Russian made a fine start to her comeback in Stuttgart in April by making the semi-finals but had fallen short since. However, she has been in decent form in China and was a 7-5, 6-3 winner against Magda Linette in the second round.

Sharapova will now face

0 Maria Sharapova: Last eight. Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele, who defeated fifth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 6-3.

Italian qualifier Sara Errani continued her winning run on her own comeback from a two-month doping ban, beating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Johanna Konta’s hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Singapore are over after she pulled out of next week’s Kremlin Cup with a foot injury. The British No 1 had hoped to overtake Caroline Garcia to claim the final place in Singapore by reaching the final in Moscow but has not recovered. The top eight ranked players qualify for the WTA finals.