London: China's top-ranked player Zhang Shuai booked a quarterfinal berth at the Nottingham Open after defeating British Jodie Burrage 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday. Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic also advanced to the last-eight stage with a 7-6, 8-2 win against local star Heather Watson in a Round of 16 match. But eighth-seed Magda Linette of Poland went down to Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6(3) in another Round of 16 match. The world No. 41 Zhang spent one hour and 23 minutes in her second-round match, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Tereza Martincova as the world No. 60 from the Czech Republic ousted the eighth-seeded Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 7-6(3), reports Xinhua. "It feels great to win another singles match, and it gives me a lot of confidence to know that I can still play well on the singles court, especially on grass," the 33-year-old said. "She is a very promising young player who pushed me a lot during the match," Zhang said of her opponent Burrage. "Winning in such a tough match made me more confident," she was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Zhang was runner-up in the tournament last year and started this year's campaign in the grass-court event as the fourth seed in the women's singles. "I'm happy to be back in Nottingham, where I had a great record last year and reached the final. It's a great motivation for me to come here because Nottingham was the start of my good form last season. I'm proud of the small steps I've taken and the efforts I've put in," said Zhang. She also pairs up with Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia to compete in the doubles event and the top seeds are scheduled to play against Viktorija Golubic/Camila Osorio on Thursday. Last year, Zhang reached the final of the same event but was defeated by Britain's Johanna Konta.—IANS
