Diana Shnaider enters last-8; Marie Bouzkova holds her ground

Diana Shnaider reached the quarter-finals of the Jiangxi Open on Wednesday. The 19-year-old moved on after her opponent, Vera Zvonareva retired mid-match. Shnaider was leading the 39-year-old 6-3, 0-1 when the latter’s illness made her stop play, abruptly.

The Jiangxi Open’s the second tournament in China where Shnaider’s reached the quarter-final stage. Earlier at the Ningbo Open, she made it to the quarters before going all the way to what was her maiden career finale.

She lost to Ons Jabeur at that time. Incidentally, Zvonareva also reached the quarters in Ningbo before also crashing out at the hands of Jabeur.

Jiangxi Open: Camila Osorio scores an emphatic upset

Meanwhile, looking to reach the semi-finals this week, the 72th-ranked Shnaider will play Nao Hibino.

The Japanese defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 45 minutes in their second-round match. Hibino saved two of the four break points she faced. All four of these came in the second set. She converted four break points on the Australian’s serve, two across each set.