Merida Open Akron Round-up Day Four | Jasmine Paolini marches on as trio of seeds falter, including reigning champion

Among a trio of seeds casualties, Jasmine Paolini was not one of them in the Merida Open Akron. She kept her cool and found a way past Priscilla Hon in a convincing 6-0, 6-2 triumph.

The number one seed is making her tournament debut in Mexico and is so far enjoying life, receiving a bye through the first round before sharing her intention on court with a emphatic win. It is her first win on court for over a month, last entering the winning enclosure in the second round of the Australian Open. Damaging defeats in her opening match of the two WTA 1000 events in Qatar and Dubai have left her out of form and desperate for a change in fortune.

It seems that this tournament could be the one to get her back on track. The Italian was ruthless in the first set, creating three break opportunities and taking them as she bageled her opponent. The Aussie then finally got on the board as she broke instantly back at the start of the second set but this was met with a third consecutive break which saw the two-time Grand Slam finalist storm out in front. Hon could not take anymore chances and would see the world number seven run away with it and book a spot int he quarterfinals, with the inform Katie Boulter awaiting in what is set up to be a tantalising fixture.

“Usually, you always play in the same places in tennis, but I’m so happy to visit a new place,” Paolini said in her on-court interview. “Tournaments in Mexico are always nice, organised and the crowds are really passionate, so I’m happy to be back in Mexico and the first time in Merida.”

While it was simple for Paolini, it was anything but for the second seed Emma Navarro. Her title defence has come to an abrupt end to the hands of Shuai Zhang in a 6-4, 6-4 defeat.

After winning the final 6-0, 6-0 last year, the American was hoping to repeat the fortunes later down the line but that opportunity will not occur. She did take what looked like to be an insurmountable lead early on, breaking the serve before holding to love to move into a commanding 4-1 lead. However, even from her lofty perch she could not fend off the oncoming threat. Zhang came charging back with great intent, scooping up five games in a row to seal a hugely impressive comeback and take the first set.

The job was nowhere near done and the Chinese tennis player had to be at her best form to win the match. Again Navarro broke to go 3-1 ahead but this time Zhang was not letting her out of her sight. She pegged her back instantly before taking a break advantage of her own to move 4-3 in front. The rest of the match stayed on serve which suited the qualifier who took a huge victory and moves into the quarterfinal, boosting the chances of a new name on the trophy.

After a second victory over Navarro on the spin, Zhang was unsure why she played so well. “I don’t really know because during the match I was thinking the same question,” Zhang commented afterwards. “I didn’t do anything special. Maybe I like (how she hits) her balls and she doesn’t like my balls. Yeah, I don’t really know, but I just played my game, tried to focus on myself and that was a great match, 4-1 down and 3-1 down in the second set.”

The 2024 finalist Ann Li will not be completing those heroics anytime soon in Mexico. In a repeat of that final, she forced a much closer match against Zeynep Sonmez but the result was the same, losing out 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4.

Li stormed into a 3-0 lead in the early stages, matching the number of games she in in the 2024 final encounter. A familiar trend would emerge in this set as the Turkish number one failed to take four break points, including what would be the final set as the American snuck ahead.

Li was in charge of proceedings and broke to go 3-2 in front. She motored into a 0-40 lead to put herself in a match winning position but Sonmez clawed her way back into it before getting the set back on serve at a crucial time. A tiebreak was needed and it was clear from the off who was in charge. Sonmez went 6-3 in front failed to take all three set points. A fourth one came and went soon after but a fifth would be taken to level the match.

More drama would occur in the third and final set with Sonmez creeping out into a 3-1 lead via a number of breaks. Four match points came on the Li serve but none were taken as the number three seed prolonged the match, forcing the 23-year-old to serve it out. This is what she did and with her fifth match point confirmed her spot in the last-eight after a thriller of a tennis match.

Before the second and third seed went tumbling out, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro began the trend with a 6-0, 6-3 defeat to Magdalena Frech. The seventh seed had picked up her first win since getting the better of Coco Gauff in the United Cup in the prior round to Heather Watson but her poor form would continue in Mexico.

Frech took full advantage of this blip. She took 28 minutes to bagel the Spaniard in the first set while clinching three out of four break points. Bouzas Maneiro's level improved as she went 2-0 ahead in the second set but from here just one more game would go her way. Frech catapulted herself into a 4-2 lead before Bouzas Maneiro got the set briefly back on serve. Any hope of a comeback was obliterated with the Pole sealing a first quarterfinal in 2026. Her reward is a tie against the fourth seed Marie Bouzkova.