Rybakina survives Kudermetova in Stuttgart; Paolini upsets Jabeur

No.4 seed Elena Rybakina survived a stern test from Veronika Kudermetova to reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix quarterfinals for the first time, coming through a rollercoaster to advance 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 33 minutes.

Rybakina will next face Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini, who saved two set points in the first-set tiebreak en route to a 7-6(8), 6-4 upset of No.7 seed Ons Jabeur. She defeated the Italian in their only previous completed match in Rome last year, but retired from their rematch in Cincinnati due to injury.

The win over Kudermetova improves Rybakina's 2024 record to 23-4, and puts her into her seventh quarterfinal of the season. She has only fallen before that stage once this year, exiting the Australian Open in the second round to Anna Blinkova. Kudermetova is one of four players who have won two titles in 2024 already, alongside Iga Swiatek, Danielle Collins and Jelena Ostapenko.

The former Wimbledon champion fell in the second round of Stuttgart in both of her previous appearances, losing to Paula Badosa in 2022 and retiring against Beatriz Haddad Maia in 2023.

Rybakina maintained her perfect record against Kudermetova, whom she has now defeated four times in four meetings -- two of which have been three-setters. They had not played since Chicago 2021, and this was their first encounter on clay.

Match moments: After an early exchange of breaks, Kudermetova piled the pressure on Rybakina as a tight first set reached its climax. At 5-5, ferocious returning from the Tokyo champion garnered her three break points. However, Rybakina saved all of them with clean winners, then took control of the ensuing tiebreak with some of her most aggressive play of the match to that point.

But an unbowed Kudermetova not only kept her strong form up in the second set but went up a level. A backhand slam dunk overhead and a forehand pass on the run were among the highlights as she began to dominate, eventually running away with it as Rybakina's error count mounted to 12.

The decider was marked by patchy play from both, with Rybakina ultimately proving more resilient. The Kazakhstani had mostly found joy when coming forwards, winning 12 of 18 net points overall, and that tactic helped her build a 4-1 lead. But a sprinkling of errors on sitter putaways -- and another remarkable pass from her opponent -- enabled Kudermetova to level at 4-4.

But Rybakina pulled through a tight service hold for 5-4, and closed out the match as Kudermetova's forehand deserted her in the final game.

Paolini scores another milestone win: Paolini maintained her upswing with an impressive win over a player she had not taken a set from in two prior meetings. The 28-year-old won her first WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February, and her defeat of Jabeur puts her into her second quarterfinal of 2024.

It is also her fourth career Top 10 victory, and the first of those to come on clay. Paolini sped out to a quick 4-1 lead as Jabeur was slow to find her range, but thereafter proved stronger in the most important moments.

The Tunisian came up with a sprinkling of her usual crowd-pleasing magic, with her highlights including a feathery counter-drop in the first set and a pinpoint lob in the second. But Paolini was able to find the lines with her forehand to edge a tight first-set tiebreak and to save seven out of the nine break points she faced in total.

The World No.14's aggressive instincts also paid off as she won 13 out of 17 points at net, and she grew more clutch as the finishing line approached, gritting through eight deuces across her final three service holds.