Marta Kostyuk is through to the quarter-finals of the Guadalajara Open without having played a single point in the tournament.
The Ukrainian, seeded first in Mexico, received a first-round bye and then advanced further on Wednesday when her scheduled second-round opponent, Taylor Townsend, withdrew because of illness. The walkover means the world number 10 has progressed to the last eight without hitting a ball in anger.
Kostyuk is now set to make her tournament debut against eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia. Samsonova reached the quarter-finals the hard way, edging past American Kayla Day 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) in a tight three-set battle.
The 24-year-old arrives in Guadalajara in strong form. She claimed her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid in May and reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. Her most recent outing came at the US Open, where she fell to sixth seed Linda Noskova in the last 16.
Despite the unusual path into the last eight, Kostyuk will be expected to start as favourite against Samsonova when she finally steps on court. The Russian has shown resilience to come through a tough three-setter, but the Ukrainian’s higher ranking and recent results on hard courts give her the edge on paper.
For Kostyuk, the priority will be finding rhythm quickly after the unexpected rest. A strong showing in Guadalajara would further strengthen her position among the top players heading into the final stretch of the season.
