DOHA, Feb 27: Tunisian Ons Jabeur dumped world number three Karolina Pliskova out of the WTA event in Doha to reach the quarterfinals, while top-ranked Ashleigh Barty received a walkover.
Australian Open quarterfinalist Jabeur came through a tight match against Pliskova, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a last-eight tie against Petra Kvitova on Thursday.
Jabeur, who became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in Melbourne, was broken when leading 4-2 in the deciding set, but hit back immediately before claiming her first win over a top-10 player since 2018.
The 25-year-old managed to see out the win despite appearing to struggle with a hamstring injury in the closing games.
�I had a sharp pain on my hamstring, right hamstring, when I was going for the forehand at 4-2 my serve,� Jabeur told wtatennis.com.
�I didn�t really want to call the physio, so people would not think that I�m doing it on purpose, and plus I didn�t want to break the rhythm I was trying to maintain.�
Earlier on Wednesday, two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova had battled past former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
�I mean Petra is Petra. She plays unbelievable and she�s a tough player,� added Jabeur.
�Hopefully, my hamstring will be better. I�m going to do my best tonight to recover and honestly I think it�s going to be a great match.�
Czech left-hander Kvitova, 11th in the world rankings, has not lost to a player ranked outside the top 40 since last year�s US Open, but said she struggled in windy conditions.
�There�s no chance to have tactics in this wind,� she said. � AFP