Andreescu and Mertens thunder through to quarterfinals

After her lost final last year, Bianca Andreescu seems to be on a mission this edition. The 24-year-old Canadian did not lose a set in her second match this week either. Seventh seed Lulu Sun was outsmarted 6-0 6-4 on court 1.

In her campaign on the Brabant grass this week, the former US Open champion has thus not conceded more than four games per match. Whether Andreescu can maintain that trend in the last eight remains to be seen, because in Elena-Gabriela Ruse, the former world number four meets a player who has also proved unapproachable so far.

The Romanian qualifier defeated Carson Branstine in straight sets earlier in the day. The Canadian qualifier in turn surprised titleholder and number one seed Liudmila Samsonova earlier in the tournament.

Powerful Mertens
Also untouchable so far is third-ranked Elise Mertens. The Belgian number one had no problem with former world number three Maria Sakkari: 6-3 6-0.

Mertens, who is experiencing an excellent year, is still awaiting her opponent in the quarterfinals. Australia’s Kimberly Birrell and Chinese lucky loser Yue Yuan will decide who gets to take on the top seed from the southern neighbours.