NÜRNBERG, May 22, 2019

Anna-Lena Friedsam advanced to the quarterfinals of the Nürnberger Versicherungscup. The 25-year-old wild card entry emerged victorious from the all-German affair with Andrea Petkovic, winning 6-3, 6-1 on a chilly Wednesday afternoon in Franconia.

Friedsam struck seven aces, saved all four break points she faced, converting four of her to advance in only 57 minutes.

“That was a very good match from me. I was happy about how I served. I had a good feeling on the directions, and that was a key point for today’s match,” Friedsam said. “It was tight at the beginning of the first set, we played really good, but I was able to put the next level on, and the match went on my side then.”

Friedsam will next challenge top seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, who ousted another German in Mona Barthel.

“I’m really looking forward to this match. She’s a great player with a lot of intensity,” Friedsam assessed.

“We had a couple of matches in the juniors and it was always very tough. I like how she plays, I like the tension, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Later in the afternoon, Katerina Siniakova knocked off defending champion Johanna Larsson of Sweden. The No. 2 seed from the Czech Republic won 55 per cent of the total points played to secure a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory in one hour and 46 minutes. Next up for Siniakova will be US-American Madison Brengle.

Alja Tomljanovic, the tournament’s No. 3, fell in the second round to Tamara Zidansek. The 21-year-old from Russia broke her opponent’s serve four times to prevail 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes. Zidansek will take on fifth seeded compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals.