In the day’s second match-up of two Top 10 players, third seed Kiki Bertens battled past last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 3-6 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne.
It was a tightly-contested quarterfinal — Sabalenka won a total of 90 points, compared to the winner’s 91. The eighth-seeded Sabalenka confidently opened the match by holding serve at love, but Bertens won the Belarusian’s next service game and this early break of serve that handed her a 3-1 lead turned out to be crucial in the first set.