Sharma charges into Charleston third round

Lucky loser Astra Sharma sweeps past 16th seed at WTA 500 event as Rinky Hijikata stumbles in Houston.


Thursday 04 April 2024
Dan Imhoff
Charleston, USA
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 18: Astra Sharma of Australia plays a forehand in her first round singles match against Clara Tauson of Denmark during day two of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Charleston, USA

Astra Sharma will meet third seed Maria Sakkari for a place in her first tour-level quarterfinal in almost two years after a straight-sets upset of Lesia Tsurenko at Charleston on Wednesday.

The Australian lucky loser backed up her win over countrywoman Arina Rodionova - her first WTA main-draw victory since July - with a 6-4 6-0 victory over the 16th-seeded Ukrainian.

A champion at a Charleston WTA 250 event in 2021, in which she beat former world No.2 Ons Jabeur in the final, the 28-year-old moved to within one win of her first WTA quarterfinal since Rabat in May 2022.

Aussies in action - Charleston

RESULTS
Women's singles, second round
[LL] Astra Sharma (AUS) d [16] Lesia Tsurenko (UKR) 6-4 6-0

COMING UP
Women's singles, second round
[Q] Daria Saville (AUS) v [7] Elina Svitolina (UKR)

Women's singles, third round
[LL] Astra Sharma (AUS)
v [3] Maria Sakkari (GRE)

Women's doubles, quarterfinals
[1] Ellen Perez (AUS)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) v Magda Linette (POL)/Zhang Shuai (CHN)

Houston, USA

Brandon Nakashima has halted Australian Rinky Hijikata's bid to claim back-to-back wins on clay for the first time at Houston.

The 80th-ranked Hijikata was seeking third tour-level quarterfinal of the season but was unable to match the 22-year-old American in a 6-1 6-4 second-round defeat.

Hijikata had picked up his maiden ATP clay-court win over fifth seed Christopher Eubanks at the first hurdle.

After an injury-marred 2023, 92nd-ranked Nakashima will face either top seed Ben Shelton or Zizou Bergs in his first quarterfinal since Lyon in May.

Aussies in action - Houston

RESULTS
Men's singles, second round
Brandon Nakashima (USA) d Rinky Hijikata (AUS) 6-1 6-4

Men's doubles, quarterfinals
4] Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) d Anirudh Chandrasekar (IND)/Vijay-Sundar Prashanth (IND) 3-6 6-3 [10-5]

COMING UP
Men's singles, second round
James Duckworth (AUS) v [3] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
[8] Max Purcell (AUS)
v [WC] Michael Mmoh (USA)
[6] Jordan Thompson (AUS) v Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA

Men's doubles, quarterfinals
John Peers (AUS)/William Blumberg (USA) v [WC] Andres Andrade (ECU)/Ben Shelton (USA)
Andrew Harris (AUS)/Rinky Hijikata (AUS) v Fernando Romboli (BRA)/Marcelo Zormann Da Silva (BRA)

Marrakech, Morocco

Aussies in action - Marrakech

RESULTS
Men's doubles, first round
Boris Arias (BOL)/Federico Zeballos (BOL) d [ALT] Aleksandar Vukic (AUS)/Sumit Nagal (IND) 7-6(5) 4-6 [10-3]

COMING UP
Men's singles, second round
Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v [2] Sebastian Ofner (AUT)

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