World number two Simona Halep battled through extreme heat to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Citi Open while Canada's Eugenie Bouchard was ousted Thursday by Germany's Andrea Petkovic. French Open runner-up Halep, the top-seeded woman on the Washington hardcourts, rallied past Colombia's Mariana Duque-Marino 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in withering heat she measured at 47 Celsius (116 F) on the court.
"It was really hot out there," Halep said. "I was a little bit dead on the court. It was the same thing for her so I said I have to keep fighting even if I'm struggling." World number 102 Petkovic, a former top-10 player and French Open semi-finalist on the comeback trail, ousted 73rd-ranked Bouchard 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.
"I feel like a lot of pieces are falling into place for me this year," Petkovic said. "I feel like I can do more damage this year. I feel like I have the best tennis inside me and I'm taking steps to bring it out." Petkovic compared adding an agent, mental coach and physio-therapist to her entourage with musicians making an unusual album.
"You know those bands that have an album and you don't understand what it was but you have to go through it to get to the next one, that's what this year feels like for me," Petkovic said. "This is my transition year, my in-between album that nobody will remember." Petkovic advanced to a quarter-final against 17-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu, who won her first WTA main draw matches this week, including Thursday's 6-2, 6-3 triumph over French second seed Kristina Mladenovic.
It was the first time in WTA history a player born in the 21st Century had beaten a top-20 player. "My dream is to create history, which I did today," Andreescu said. "This is the beginning." Halep dropped the first set in 28 minutes, losing her serve in the second game and never forcing a break point against her South American foe.
"I was able to keep fighting," Halep said. "I calmed down a little bit and was able to get my shots in more and I think that was the key to the match, to push back on her." The 25-year-old Romanian battled back and booked a last-eight date with Russian seventh seed Ekaterina Makarova. Halep is 3-1 all-time against Makarova, losing only in a 2015 Australian Open quarter-final.
Another Friday quarter-final will send German fourth seed Julia Goerges against Romanian sixth seed Monica Niculescu, who eliminated compatriot Patricia Maria Tig 6-4, 7-6 (7/2). Germany's Sabine Lisicki defeated Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Lisicki will face French fifth seed Oceane Dodin in Friday's other quarter-final.
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