WTA roundup: Linda Noskova dodges upset with late rally

Linda Noskova avoided a round-of-16 upset at the hands of American Bernarda Pera on Wednesday, rallying for a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win to advance to the quarterfinals of the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole in Rouen, France.

Noskova, the No. 2 seed from the Czech Republic, bounced back from a first-set loss to outlast Pera in the second. But it was the final set that proved the difference as Noskova limited unforced errors, committing just one double fault after recording five over the previous two sets. Noskova also converted both break points to put away Pera.

Top-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine also logged a win by defeating Switzerland's Jil Teichmann 7-6 (4), 6-4, as did No. 5 Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, who won 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 over Italy's Nuria Brancaccio. Other round-of-16 winners included France's Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Jessika Ponchet, Romania's Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.

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After a slow start to the second set, Belgium's Elise Mertens completed a second-round upset of No. 8 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, using eight aces -- including five in the winning set -- to advance to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) win in Stuttgart, Germany.

Mertens won 14 of 30 return points (46.7 percent) in the opening set, compared with Shnaider's clip of 6 for 22 (27.2 percent). Shnaider, though, came back strong in the second and was on the doorstep of forcing a decisive third set, only to see Mertens come charging back thanks to five aces while winning 47.2 percent of return points.

Elsewhere, No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland raced away with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Croatia's Jana Fett, while No. 6 Mirra Andreeva earned a win after sister Erika Andreeva was forced to retire in the second set with a knee injury. At the time, Mirra led 1-0 after winning the first set 6-2. Germany's Ella Seidel and Poland's Magdalena Frech also picked up wins.