Beijing, October 6 (H.S.):Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled off a major upset at the China Open on Tuesday, defeating Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-2 in the pre-quarter-finals. With the emphatic victory, Alexandrova advanced to the quarter-finals, where she will face compatriot Mirra Andreeva.

The 19th-seeded Alexandrova produced an impressive performance against fifth seed Noskova. The victory marked her 22nd career win over a Top-10 opponent. It also saw her reach the China Open quarter-finals in Beijing for the first time.

At 31, Alexandrova became the oldest player in China Open history to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. She is also the third-oldest player to advance to the tournament’s last eight, behind only Serena Williams and Zhang Shuai.

Alexandrova dominated Noskova throughout the contest and did not drop her serve even once. She defeated the reigning Wimbledon champion 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets to secure an impressive victory. It was her seventh WTA 1000 quarter-final appearance and her second such achievement of the season. Earlier, she had reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Toronto.

Earlier, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva also booked her place in the last eight by defeating Daria Snigur 6-2, 6-2 in the pre-quarter-finals. She will now face compatriot Alexandrova for a place in the semi-finals.

After her victory, Andreeva said, “I think my serve was good today. I also think I defended well because she is a very aggressive player. I felt that defending well today would be good and useful for me. I think I did both of those things as well as I could today.”

Speaking about her upcoming clash with Alexandrova, Andreeva said, “One thing I definitely know is that I haven’t beaten her yet. I will work with Conchita to do my best to figure out how I should play against her, what adjustments I need to make and what new things I can bring into the match. It is definitely going to be a great and entertaining match. She is a great player. I don’t know. I am really excited to finally try to get my first win against her.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar