TOKYO — Top-seeded Iga Swiatek came back from a break down in both sets to beat Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama 6-4, 7-5 Wednesday in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Swiatek, making her debut appearance in Japan, advanced to her 13th quarterfinal of 2023. She will next face eighth-seeded Veronika Kudermetova.
Second-seeded Jessica Pegula made a more convincing start, beating Cristina Busca 6-1, 6-2.
“I thought I played very well,” Pegula said on court. “The courts play pretty fast here, so I was just trying to focus on my serve and my return, and I thought I did that really well, and was able to play a very clean match today.”
Kudermetova defeated Kayla Day 6-3, 6-3 and Ekaterina Alexandrova beat defending champion Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-2.
At the Ningbo Open, top-seeded Ons Jabeur and second-seeded Petra Kvitova both advanced to the quarterfinals.
Jabeur beat Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-2 while Kvitova advanced with a walkover after Yulia Putintseva withdrew. The two-time Wimbledon champion will next play Diana Schnaider, who defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-2.
Also, Katerina Siniakova beat Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-5, Linda Fruhvirtova eliminated fourth-seeded Anna Blinkova 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 and Russian wild-card Vera Zvonareva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, was leading Clara Tauson 6-4, 1-0 when the Danish player retired from the match.
At the Astana Open, Hamad Medjedovic beat seventh-seeded Laslo Djere after the latter retired from the match while trailing 6-3, 2-1.
