Brussels, Belgium – Top seed and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was a second-round upset victim, while fourth-seeded American Sloane Stephens notched a pair of victories Wednesday at the $690,000 Brussels Open, a final clay-court French Open tune-up.
China's Zheng Jie upended the Danish star and 2011 Brussels champion Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 at Royal Primerose Tennis Club. Zheng also recorded a first-round victory earlier in the day by outlasting American qualifier Mallory Burdette 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Stephens finally completed a first-round match that started here on Monday by beating Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, and then posted a second- round win by blasting Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-0 on Day 3. Zhang peppered Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-3 in a round-of-32 matchup earlier Wednesday.
Rain wreaked havoc here on Tuesday, wiping out 10 first-round affairs.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci was tied with Kazakhstani qualifier Yulia Putintseva, 6-3, 5-7 when their second-round bout was suspended because of darkness on Wednesday. Putintseva crushed Belgian wild card Alison Van Uytvanck 6-1, 6-0 in a first-round match earlier Wednesday.
Another second-round upset came when Swiss Romina Oprandi topped sixth-seeded German Julia Goerges 6-3, as Goerges retired after dropping the first set. Goerges started her day with a 6-1, 7-5 first-round win over American lucky loser Coco Vandeweghe, while Oprandi was also a 6-2, 6-2 opening-round winner over American qualifier Melanie Oudin.
In other second-round play, seventh-seeded American Varvara Lepchenko vaulted past British wild card Elena Baltacha 6-2, 6-0, eighth-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai overcame Belarusian Olga Govortsova 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), and Estonian Kaia Kanepi leveled Czech Jana Cepelova 6-3, 6-3. The 2011 Brussels runner-up Peng was a 6-3, 6-0 opening-round winner against Swede Sofia Arvidsson, while Kanepi was also an opening-round winner by upsetting third- seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) on Wednesday.
In some other first-round play, fifth-seeded Belgian Kirsten Flipkens held off American Madison Keys 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and American Jamie Hampton came back to beat struggling Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In some quarterfinal action on Thursday, Stephens will battle Peng, Lepchenko will take on Kanepi, and Zheng will meet Oprandi.
The 2013 Brussels titlist will earn $120,000.
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