2024 Berlin Ladies Open Round-Up: Sabalenka dominates Kasatkina as Ons Jabeur makes a comeback

The quarterfinals of the WTA 500 Berlin Ladies Open have been decided, highlighted by a commanding victory from Aryna Sabalenka over Daria Kasatkina and a remarkable comeback from Ons Jabeur against teenager Linda Noskova.

The day also featured wins from Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, while Qinwen Zheng and Marketa Vondrousova were knocked out of the tournament.

Sabalenka crushes Kasatkina

In their ninth encounter, Aryna Sabalenka once again triumphed over Daria Kasatkina, extending her head-to-head record to 7-2. The Belarusian took full advantage of Kasatkina's inconsistencies on serve. The world No. 3 secured two consecutive breaks and raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set.

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The two-time Grand Slam champion won 20 of the first 25 points played and dropped only four points on her serve throughout the set. Winning 70% of the points played, it took Sabalenka just 23 minutes to claim the set 6-1.

In the second set, Kasatkina started to improve, becoming more effective with her first and second serves while leveling the playing field during return games. Despite maintaining parity for several minutes, Kasatkina conceded a break opportunity in the fifth game, which Sabalenka capitalized on.

Leading 4-2, Sabalenka lost her serve for the first time, giving Kasatkina a chance to level the set at 4-4. However, another break of serve allowed Sabalenka to close out the match 6-1, 6-4.

Aryna Sabalenka at the 2023 French Open.

Jabeur's impressive comeback

Ons Jabeur faced a tough second-round match against the world No. 28 Linda Noskova. The Tunisian fell behind early, getting broken in the first game, but managed to break back immediately and leveled the match at 2-2.

Jabeur had another break point in the ninth game but couldn't convert. The set went to a tiebreak, where Noskova took her third set point to win 7-6(3). The Czech teenager was nearly unbeatable on her first serve, winning 88% of those points.

However, the tide turned in Jabeur's favor in the second set. She broke in the fourth game and held onto the lead for the rest of the set. Each player secured a break in the seventh and eighth games, but Jabeur eventually won the set 6-3.

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The third set was decided early, with Jabeur breaking in the first game. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up won 76% of her service points compared to Noskova's 63%. Without facing any more break points, Jabeur completed her comeback, winning 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals where she will face Coco Gauff.

Gauff and Pegula advance

Top seed Coco Gauff had a successful debut in the grass-court swing. The new world No. 2 defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, a semifinalist last week at the Libema Open, winning 7-6(6), 6-2 in an hour and 21 minutes.

Last year, Gauff had a disappointing grass-court season with a 4-3 record and an early exit at Wimbledon. This year, the American is aiming for her first title on grass.

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Jessica Pegula also moved forward, defeating last year's Berlin Ladies Open runner-up Donna Vekic. The world No. 5 overcame Vekic 6-4, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals. Pegula will next face Katerina Siniakova, who defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 6-4 in a match that began on Wednesday and was delayed by rain, finishing on Thursday, June 20.

Other results included Elena Rybakina's victory over Veronika Kudermetova (6-4, 7-5) and the withdrawal of 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who was tied 5-5 against Anna Kalinskaya before retiring.