Kenin saves ves match point oint to make Lyon quarters rters

LYON: Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin fought off a match point against world number 174 Jacqueline Cristian to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA event in Lyon on Thursday.

Kenin, who had lost her opening matches in both Dubai and Doha in recent weeks, made it consecutive wins in Lyon as she scraped through 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-4. The fifth-ranked American was on the brink of defeat as Romania’s Cristian had match point on her serve at 5-4. Kenin rallied to break her opponent and then forced a third set.

The top seed failed to serve out victory while leading 5-3 in the decider but sealed her place in the next round with a break in the following game.

Kenin, 21, will next meet France’s Oceane Dodin, who received a walkover against Jil Teichmann of Switzerland. Second seed Kristina Mladenovic crashed out in the second round after a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Germany’s Anna-lena Friedsam.

Meanwhile, world No.1 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine raced into the Monterrey Open quarterfinals by picking up a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Olga Govortsova of Belarus on Thursday night.

In the first meeting between World No.7 Svitolina and 142nd-ranked Govortsova, it was Svitolina who claimed the win after one hour and 18 minutes of play, extending her showing in her maiden appearance in Monterrey.

In the last eight, Svitolina will take on surging Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez.

The 17-year-old continues her strong form this week, including a victory over Sloane Stephens which propelled her into the quarter-finals.

Govortsova got off to a swift start, cracking a backhand down the line to force an error from Svitolina and earn a service break in the very first game. The Belarusian’s aggressive play served her well as she consolidated her break for a 2-0 lead, then earned two break points in the next game.

However, Svitolina fended those chances off, drawing errors from the qualifier, to hold on for 2-1. The Ukrainian continued to emerge victorious in rallies in the next game, reclaiming the break and leveling the set at 2-2.

Svitolina missed a break point in Govortsova’s long hold for 3-3, and the top seed had to serve her way out of trouble before holding for 4-3, saving two break points along the way. But Svitolina took charge in the set in the next game, quickly zipping to triple break point, then deploying a backhand dropshot winner to claim the love break and a 5-3 lead.