Jovanovski reaches Tashkent QFs

Published February 05, 2015

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (SportsNetwork.com) - Top-seeded and defending champion Bojana Jovanovski was a hard-fought second-round winner Wednesday at the Tashkent Open tennis event.

The Serb held off 2010 Tashkent titlist Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-3.

Jovanovski, who beat Belarusian Olga Govortsova in last year's final, will face Pole Urszula Radwanska in Thursday's quarterfinals at this hardcourt tournament.

A trio of upsets occurred on Day 3, as Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko toppled second-seeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), Radwanska rolled past fifth-seeded Croat Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-3, and Govortsova grounded sixth-seeded Japanese Misaki Doi 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Begu titled here two years ago by beating Vekic in the final.

Third-seeded Italian Karin Knapp avoided an upset by blitzing Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-3.

In other second-round play, Russia Ksenia Pervak beat Latvian wild card Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), Uzbekistanian wild card Nigina Abduraimova overcame Russian Alexandra Panova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, and another Uzbekistanian wild card, Akgul Amanmuradova, drubbed Ukrainian qualifier Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 6-2.

Thursday's other quarterfinals will pit Knapp against Govortsova, the 2011 Tashkent champion Pervak versus Tsurenko and Abduraimova against the 2005 and 2009 runner-up Amanmuradova.

This week's winner will earn $43,000.

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