TEENAGER Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating 12th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, 6-0 Sunday in just 59 minutes. The 19-year-old Vondrousova has not dropped a set in four matches. “I’m just happy with my game,” she said. “Yeah, really happy.” For a spot in the semifinals, Vondrousova will face 31st-seeded Petra Martic, who followed up her win over second-seeded Karolina Pliskova by rallying past Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach her first quarterfinal at a major, too. The only Grand Slam title winner left on this side of the women’s draw is 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, who eliminated Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-3 and now will meet 26th-seeded Johanna Konta for a semifinal berth. Konta defeated 23rd-seeded Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-4. Stephens, the runner-up to Simona Halep at Roland Garros last year, needed five match points to close out Muguruza. With 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova and 18-year-old Iga Swiatek playing, three teenagers made the last 16 in Paris for the first time since 2008. Vondrousova grew up watching two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, a fellow Czech lefty. “I remember when she won Wimbledon, so I was looking up to her,” Vondrousova said. (SD-Agencies) |