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Alexandrova's quarterfinal opponent will be Amanda Anisimova
after the American beat 15th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus
6-1, 6-4.
In the day's only matchup of seeded players, No. 8 Ons Jabeur of
Tunisia defeated 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2,
3-6, 6-2. Jabeur moves on to a quarterfinal matchup against
two-time Madrid champion Simona Halep. The unseeded Romanian
downed 14th-seeded Coco Gauff of the United States 6-4, 6-4.
Bouzkova prevailed in an 83-minute first set against Alexandrova
despite dropping her first service game and facing eight break
points at 1-3. She broke back to level the set at 4-4 before
ultimately winning the tiebreaker.
Alexandrova cruised in the second set and went up 5-3 in the
third set before needing four more games and five match points
to seal the victory.
"It was super tough, and (Bouzkova) played so well," Alexandrova
said. "It was kind of impossible to finish the points because
she was everywhere. Every ball I hit, she's hitting back."
Anisimova had a much easier day's work, cruising to victory in
81 minutes.
"I think it was a really tough match, but I was playing well
throughout all of it," Anisimova said. "It was my first time
playing (Azarenka) so I was really excited, and I'm just happy
to get this win."
Jabeur came through at the key moments in her win over Bencic,
saving five of the six break points she faced on her serve. The
two played a rematch of the Charleston, S.C., final last month
that Bencic won in three sets.
"Part of me is very proud of myself for coming today and getting
the win," Jabeur said. "Belinda is such an amazing player and
it's very tough to play against her. I'm very happy with the
level I showed today, and hopefully this level will continue for
the rest of the tournament."
Jabeur will seek her first win over Halep in a complete match.
The players have squared off three times, with Jabeur's only
victory coming in 2018 on a day when Halep retired midmatch.
"She's a great person, first of all, because we get so well
together," Jabeur said. "It's always nice to talk to her. But
every time on court is a big fight, big battle. I'm expecting a
big one next round."
--Field Level Media
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