World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka and fifth seed Coco Gauff both made surprise exits from German Open in Berlin on Thursday.
Belarusian Sabalenka, who was top seed at Steffi Graf Stadion, lost 6-2, 6-7 to Veronika Kudermetova, while American teenager Gauff was trounced 6-4, 6-0 by Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Wimbledon champion and second seed Elena Rybakina was beaten in three sets by Donna Vekic on Wednesday.
It was another disappointing defeat for Sabalenka – who lost to the unseeded Karolina Muchova in the French Open semi-finals earlier this month – with Wimbledon less than two weeks away.
Kudermetova, who beat Sabalenka at the same stage last year, outclassed her opponent in the first set, and was able to defend well against the serves, with her forehand particularly impressive.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka began to play some better tennis late in the second set after initially losing her serve and managed to force a tie-break, but failed to take Kudermetova into a third set.
“I’m super happy. For me it’s important to play like that. I know Aryna plays aggressive, I had to play aggressive too. I always believe in myself,” said the 26-year-old, who will now take on Alexandrova in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“I’m already a bit used to playing on grass, which maybe helped a bit.”
Lightning strikes twice ⚡️⚡️Veronika Kudermetova topples No.1 seed Sabalenka again in Berlin to set up a Den Bosch final rematch against Alexandrova.#bett1open pic.twitter.com/xjSdCvQVaJ
Meanwhile, Alexandrova extended her winning streak to seven matches, after defending her 's-Hertogenbosch title last week, with a 75-minute demolition of Gauff.
The 28-year-old had lost to Gauff in their only previous meeting at the 2021 Dubai Duty Free Tennis
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