Top Tennis Seeds Eliminated in Major Upsets at Mexican Tournament

Three highly-ranked tennis players, including defending champion Emma Navarro, suffered surprising defeats at the Merida Open in Mexico. The upsets cleared the way for lower-seeded players to advance to the quarterfinals.

Three highly-ranked tennis players faced unexpected eliminations during Thursday’s action at the Merida Open Akron in Mexico, as several top seeds fell short of reaching the quarterfinal round.

Emma Navarro, the tournament’s second seed and defending champion who holds the world’s 20th ranking, suffered a straight-set defeat against China’s Shuai Zhang, losing 6-4, 6-4. Fellow American Ann Li, seeded third, also exited the competition after falling to Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6 (7), 6-4 match. Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the seventh seed, experienced a decisive loss to Poland’s Magdalena Frech, 6-0, 6-3.

The defending champion’s match began promisingly as Navarro secured an early break against Zhang’s serve and established a commanding 4-1 advantage in the opening set. However, Zhang mounted an impressive comeback, claiming five consecutive games to capture the first set. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Navarro building a 3-1 lead only to watch Zhang win five of the following six games to complete the stunning upset.

Meanwhile, Italy’s top-seeded Jasmine Paolini made a successful tournament entrance, dominating Australia’s Priscilla Hon, a lucky loser, with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 victory. Paolini’s performance included 13 winners against 14 unforced errors, while she claimed an impressive 90% success rate on second-serve points, winning nine of ten opportunities and capitalizing on six of eleven break point chances.

At the ATX Open in Austin, Texas, Australia’s unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic delivered a significant upset by defeating second-seeded Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to secure her quarterfinal berth.

Jovic, currently ranked 18th globally, initially controlled the match by breaking Tomljanovic’s serve in the tenth game to claim the first set. The Australian responded by breaking the American’s serve in the fifth game of the second set before holding her own service to force a deciding third set. Physical concerns appeared to affect Jovic throughout the match, as she began with her right leg taped and later required medical attention to address her left leg after dropping the second set.

The final set saw Tomljanovic establish an early 2-0 advantage before Jovic rallied to level the score at 4-4. However, the Australian secured a crucial break in the ninth game and successfully served out the match in the tenth game to complete her victory.

American players Peyton Stearns, the fourth seed, and Ashlyn Krueger both advanced smoothly to the quarterfinals, joined by Australia’s Kimberly Birrell who also moved forward in the competition.