Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open: Bucsa edges past Watson to move into last eight

Spanish lucky loser Cristina Bucsa advanced to the quarter-finals of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open by defeating qualifier Heather Watson 7-6 (1), 7-5 at the International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City.

Bucsa, ranked No 74, will face Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the top seed, next.

Ahead of her victory, the Spaniard won against Chinese Xinyu Wang (5-7, 6-0, 6-3).

Watson, ranked No 156, beat Russian Veronika Kudermetova, the No 9 seed (6-3, 7-5) in the previous round of the Abu Dhabi tournament.

Abu Dhabi WTA 500, other second-round results (International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City, hard, USD 922.573, most recent results first):

• Elena Rybakina beat Danielle Collins (Q): 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
• Liudmila Samsonova (8) beat Anhelina Kalinina: 6-1, 6-3
• Barbora Krejcikova (4) beat Sara Sorribes Tormo (LL): 6-2, 1-0 ret.
• Ons Jabeur (2) beat Emma Raducanu (WC): 6-4, 6-1
• Sorana Cirstea beat Maria Sakkari (3): 6-2, 6-1
• Beatriz Haddad Maia (6) beat Magda Linette: 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-1
• Daria Kasatkina (7) beat Ashlyn Krueger (Q): 6-3, 7-5