Kostyuk, Potapova advance to Indian Wells quarters for first time

Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk crushed Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-1 and will meet another Russian, Anastasia Potapova, in the Indian Wells quarters after beating Jasmine Paolini 7-5 0-6 6-3 earlier on Tuesday.

Kostyuk only dropped four points on serve in the match and broke Pavlyuchenkova five times to reach her first quarterfinal at a WTA 1000 event.

Kostyuk edged Pavlyuchenkova in a tight three setter at the San Diego Open earlier this month but had an easier time in their fourth round battle under sunny skies in the California desert.

“It definitely helped that I played her (recently),” Kostyuk told Tennis Channel.

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“The conditions were much better for my game here, the ball bounces much higher and it’s a bit warmer. I didn’t feel like I was in so much trouble like I did in San Diego.”

The 21-year-old Kostyuk is seeded 31st at the tournament. She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January for her best result at a Grand Slam.

Potapova booked her first trip to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event with her win over Dubai champion Paolini.

Potapova disappeared in the one-sided second set but recovered to snap Paulini’s eight match winning streak, sealing the victory when the 13th seeded Italian’s backhand went wide on match point.