Tauson topples Alexandrova again in Luxembourg

Kockelscheuer (Luxembourg), September 16: There was a sense of deja vu as Clara Tauson upset fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Luxembourg Open.

The 18-year-old defeated the same opponent en route to claiming a maiden WTA Tour title in Lyon in March and repeated the feat here, again on an indoor court.

On this occasion, Tauson needed to come back from a break down in the deciding set to clinch a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-1) triumph and book her spot in the quarter-finals.

Fifth seed Marketa Vondrousova had no such trouble, the Czech a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victor over Jana Fett. Alize Cornet (8) also made the last eight with a 6-3 6-3 win over Mandy Minella, while Ludmilla Samsonova (7) needed a pair of tie-breaks to overcome Oceane Dodin.

In the first round, Zhang Shuai (6) lost in three sets to Marie Bouzkova.

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🇨🇿 @MarieBouzkova battles past Zhang in a three set fight 💪 Securing her spot into the next round!#LuxembourgOpen pic.twitter.com/tsNkjTw2y4

— wta (@WTA) September 15, 2021

At the Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz in Slovenia, second seed Yulia Putintseva was a 6-3 6-1 winner over Katie Boulter. Alison Riske, Kristina Mladenovic and Lucia Bronzetti also made it through.