Elina Svitolina the only seeded player to advance
STANFORD, Calif. (www.mubadalasvc.com) – Upsets ruled the day on Wednesday at the Bank of the West Classic, with three of the four seeded players in action eliminated from the main draw.
Elina Svitolina, the tournament’s No. 8 seed and ranked No. 17 in the world, was the only favorite to advance, outlasting qualifier Nicole Gibbs 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the nightcap. A three-time All-American and two-time NCAA Singles champion from Stanford, Gibbs was seeking her fourth win in five days after emerging from the qualifying draw.
Otherwise, the first three matches of the day went in favor of the underdog. It all started when Mona Barthel rallied past No. 6 seed Andrea Petkovic 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4). Barthel trailed 5-4 and 6-5 in the deciding set before converting the final two games.
Alison Riske then stunned No. 3 seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 6-4 for only her second career win in 12 attempts against a top-10 player. Suarez Navarro had reached the quarterfinals or better in 11 of 15 tournaments this year.
In the night session, Ajla Tomljanovic dispatched No. 7 seed Madison Keys 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 after it looked like Keys was going to breeze through the match. Advancing to her third career WTA quarterfinal, Tomljanovic won a back-and-forth second set and then convincingly took the third frame.
Even the doubles competition produced an upset, with Barthel and Sabine Lisicki knocking off the No. 4 seeded duo of Raquel Kops-Jones and Maria Sanchez 6-3, 7-6 (2).
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The Bank of the West Classic, a Premier WTA event, features a 28-player singles draw as well as a 16-team doubles draw. The event is owned and operated by IMG and serves as the opening women's event of the Emirates Airline US Open Series.
The list of past champions of the event reads like a Who's Who of women's tennis including Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC: The Bank of the West Classic is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world and is the first stop of the Emirates Airline US Open Series. Owned and operated by IMG, the WTA Premier event features a 28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $731,000. Held on Stanford University’s campus at Taube Family Tennis Stadium since 1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters.
ABOUT BANK OF THE WEST: Founded in 1874, $62.4 billion-asset Bank of the West (www.bankofthewest.com), member FDIC and equal housing lender, offers a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services. The bank operates more than 700 retail and commercial banking locations in 19 Western and Midwestern states. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 80 countries with nearly 200,000 employees.