GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Teenager Marina Stakusic survived four match points to claim the biggest win in her career after defeating top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko on Thursday to advance to the Guadalajara Open quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old Canadian was down 4-0 in the third set and fought off the four match points when she was down 5-3.
“I’m happy to pull through, it was a rollercoaster, I got a chance to close it in the second and I didn’t, but I’m happy with the win and excited with the quarters,” said Stakusic, who got into the main draw on a wild card.
Stakusic defeated Olympic semifinalist Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round and then Ostapenko for her first-career win over a top 20 player. Last year she lost to Barbora Krejcikova in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
The Canadian, ranked 155th, is the first wild-card entry to reach the quarterfinals in Guadalajara and will play against the winner of the late match between Ashley Krueger and Magdalena Frech.
Ostapenko, who is ranked 12th, had 17 double faults in the match.
Earlier, fourth seeded Caroline Garcia held off Ena Shibajara 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) and also progressed to the quarterfinals where she will meet Marie Bouzkova, who in the first match of the day breezed past qualifier Lucrezia Stefanini 6-2, 6-1.
The 30-year-old Garcia will be playing in her first quarterfinal since she advanced to the Rouen semifinals last April.
“We played very different styles, she is a player that does not suit me, I need to play solid, and I will see what I can do differently to beat her,” said Garcia, who is 0-4 against Bouzkova.
The tournament is being played on hard courts at the Complejo Panamericano de Tenis, in Guadalajara.
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