Berlin Open: Vekic upsets Wimbledon champion Rybakina to reach quarter-finals

Croat Donna Vekic edged out Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the second seed, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight of the Berlin Open at Rot-Weiss Tennis Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Vekic, ranked No 23, will face lucky loser Elina Avanesyan next.

1 – Defeating Elena Rybakina, Donna Vekic has claimed the first win of her career against a top-five ranked opponent after losing the opening set. Vekic’s record after conceding the first set was 0-11 coming into this match. Fightback.#bett1open | @WTA @WTA_insider @bett1open pic.twitter.com/SKC7CVf0P1

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 21, 2023

Ahead of her victory, the Croat defeated Russian Varvara Gracheva (6-3, 6-2).

Rybakina, ranked No 3, won against Russian qualifier Polina Kudermetova (6-4, 6-2) in the previous round of the Berlin tournament.

Berlin WTA 500, other last 16 results (Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, grass, EUR 678.814, most recent results first):

• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Jule Niemeier
• Maria Sakkari vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
• Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Coco Gauff
• Aryna Sabalenka vs. Veronika Kudermetova
• Nadia Podoroska vs. Petra Kvitova
• Elina Avanesyan beat Anna Blinkova: 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
• Caroline Garcia (3) beat Jaimee Fourlis (Q): 6-3, 6-2