NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Lucky-loser entry Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine beat fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday in the Connecticut Open quarterfinals.
Tsurenko lost in qualifying, but got into the field when top-seeded Simona Halep withdrew because of an injury. Tsurenko has yet to lose a set in the tournament.
"I don't feel any pressure because I'm playing players who are higher ranked than me, so I have nothing to lose," Tsurenko said. "I can just beat them or lose to them. It just makes me happy to play in the main draw of big tournaments, for sure.