Wickmayer Whips Top-seeded Shuai at WTA Guangzhou

Once pegged as a future star on the WTA tour, things never panned out as a top player for now-27-year-old Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium, whose career has been beset by injuries.
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But on Wednesday the No. 116-ranked Wickmayer had a moment in the sun in the land of the rising sun, upsetting No. 1 seed Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-4 to move into the quarterfinals at the Guangzhou Open in China.

“She is a tough player, tough opponent,” Wickmayer said afterwards. “I’ve always had tough matches against her so I’m happy with the win. I’m especially happy since it’s been quite a tough year — a lot of injuries and a lot of tough losses. Every win is really good for me and makes me really happy. I’m very excited to be still in and still playing.”

Wickmayer in the quarters will meet No. 6 seed Alize Cornet, who on Wednesday defeated Danka Kovinic 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3.

No. 2 seed Zhang Shuai double-bageled Turkish qualifier Ipek Soylu 6-0, 6-0.

“I played really well today, I didn’t get such score very often,” Zhang said after the match. “I don’t think top seeds will necessarily have easy wins over lower-ranked players. I don’t want to think too far into the future, I just wanted to try my best for each match.”

Aussie qualifier Lizette Cabrera stunning No. 3 Anett Kontaveit 6-0, 7-5 in other seeded action.