Top seed Barty blasts past Parmentier in Strasbourg

STRASBOURG, France -- No.1 seed Ashleigh Barty of Australia eased into the quarterfinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-4 second-round victory over French hope Pauline Parmentier.

"I think for me it was like a Fed Cup environment, obviously an away environment for me," Barty told the press, after the match. "I think [France is] one of the most patriotic countries you come up against, and I know Pauline plays amazing in Fed Cup. I know she loves playing for her country and playing with her heart on her sleeve. So I knew that I had to start well today."

World No.17 Barty won her second consecutive match in straight sets to keep her hopes alive of claiming a second career singles title. The Australian had 19 winners to 13 unforced errors in the 67-minute encounter, and she was never broken in the contest, despite a wobble in the final game.

"I knew I had to serve well, and I think it was a little bit in-and-out in the match, so there were patches where I did and patches where I didn't," Barty explained. "I got off to a very good start, and I was able to keep my foot down the pedal, and continue to do the right things."

Barty will now face Wang Qiang of China in the final eight. Wang overcame No.7 seed Danielle Collins of the United States in three sets in the second round on Tuesday, which allowed the Chinese player to advance to her first WTA quarterfinal appearance of 2018.

Barty was unstoppable for a long stretch at the outset of the match, winning 20 of the first 24 points. The Australian slammed a forehand winner down the line on the last of those points to win the first five games on the trot and clinch a massive lead.

Serving at 5-0, Parmentier finally won more than a point in a game, and some more consistent hitting allowed the Frenchwoman to sink her teeth into the match. Barty did reach a set point in that game, but Parmentier eventually survived the four-deuce game to get on the board at 5-1.

But if there was any doubt that the first set was Barty’s to claim, it was quickly dispelled when the top seed swiftly held to close out the opener, extracting a long service return from Parmentier on the Australian’s second set point. Parmentier could only manage one winner in the set, and had 14 unforced errors during that timespan.

Parmentier, however, was unwilling to go down without a fight in her home country. The French veteran, who won her third career singles title -- and first in ten years -- at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup last month, made the second set a much more competitive affair than the first-set blowout was, via improved serving and more effective hitting from the forehand side.

The World No.75 from France grabbed her first break point of the match at 1-0, exciting the vocal Strasbourg crowd. Barty steeled herself, though, and held for 1-1. After that close call, and despite the uptick in Parmentier’s play, it was the Australian who would claim first blood, going up a break to 3-2 after Parmentier double faulted while down break point.

Barty blasted through her next two service games en route to a 5-3 lead, but serving for the match at 5-4, the Australian suddenly struggled while facing a routine victory. Parmentier reached double break point after a deep service return led to a backhand miscue by the Australian. Solid serving erased those chances and brought Barty to match point, but Parmentier would get back to deuce with an overhead winner.

A forehand error into the net by Barty gave Parmentier a third chance to break, as the final game contained most of the tension found in the match. Barty forced an error with a slice backhand to claw back to deuce, and an ace gave her a second match point. Finally, a backhand passing shot allowed Barty to escape the challenging last game, and book a spot in the quarterfinals.