LONDON - Kiki Bertens knocked out the last top 10 seed in the women's singles at Wimbledon as the Dutch world number 20 stunned Karolina Pliskova with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) victory in the fourth round on Monday.
Bertens followed her shock third round success against five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams by claiming the scalp of Czech seventh seed Pliskova. The exit of former world number one Pliskova came after the women's draw was blown wide open by surprise defeats earlier in the tournament for Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep and Sloane Stephens.
Germany's Angelique Kerber, seeded 11th, is the top ranked player remaining. But the title favourite is seven-time champion Serena Williams, seeded 25th after her lengthy maternity leave, and due to face Russian qualifier -- and fellow mother -- Evgeniya Rodina later on Monday.
Bertens, a French Open semi-finalist in 2016, is into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time. The 26-year-old faces German 13th seed Julia Goerges or Croatian world number 55 Donna Vekic on Tuesday. Bertens, who was contemplating retirement last year after losing her enthusiasm for the sport, is the first Dutch woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Michaella Krajicek in 2007.
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko swept into her second Wimbledon quarter-final with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 win against Belarusian world number 50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Monday. Latvian 12th seed Ostapenko came from 2-5 down in the first set to finish off Sasnovich, who had stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the first round.
Imperfect ten... #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/WTEVOD6AsG
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2018
Ostapenko takes on Slovakian world number 33 Dominika Cibulkova - who beat Taiwanese world number 48 Hsieh Su-Wei on Monday - for a place in the semi-finals. The 21-year-old also made the last eight at Wimbledon in 2017, just weeks after winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Paris.
Cibulkova shrugged off a furious line call controversy to power into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 rout over Hsieh. Cibulkova was furious when Hsieh successfully persuaded the umpire to replay a point that was initially called in the Slovakian's favour and would have given her three set points in the opening set. But the 29-year-old channelled her anger to crush Hsieh -- who had shocked world number one Simona Halep in the previous round.
Cibulkova is ranked 33rd in the world and controversially missed out on being seeded at Wimbledon when tournament officially moved up seven-time champion Serena Williams into the seedings despite the American being ranked outside the top 150 following her maternity leave. Although Cibulkova complained about the decision, the former Australian Open finalist has refocused well enough to make her third Wimbledon quarter-final.
Italy's Camila Giorgi advanced to her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Russian world number 35 Ekaterina Makarova at Wimbledon on Monday. Giorgi was making only her third appearance in the last 16 at a major, but there was no big game nerves as the world number 52 cruised to the most significant victory of her career.
The 26-year-old had failed to get past the third round of a major since the 2013 US Open. But she was in complete control against Makarova, who had defeated reigning Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. Giorgi will play seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams or Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the semi-finals.