(Stuttgart) Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals at the Stuttgart Open on Wednesday, winning 6-2, 6-3 over Czech Barbora Krejcikova.
The Australian Open champion has reached the final round two years in a row in Stuttgart.
However, she has not yet triumphed in this tournament on clay.
Queen of Paris in 2021, Krejcikova is 1-5 against Sabalenka.
Fifth seed Coco Gauff needed almost three hours to defeat Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3).
The Russian won the last four games of the second set to force a final set, where she came from behind 3-5 to force the tiebreaker.
Gauff will have Anastasia Potapova as her next rival.
Elena Rybakina won five games in a row en route to a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Jule Niemeier, who had taken a 3-1 lead in the second set.
She will now face Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Playing for the third time in four tournaments, Karolina Pliskova defeated eighth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 to set the stage for a clash against Donna Vekic.
