2014 champion Garbine Muguruza has ended the strong run of Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur on Wednesday evening, shrugging off two rain delays and rallying from a set down to book a place in the quarterfinals.
The former No.1 fought back from being down match point in the deciding third set to eliminate Jabeur in a tie-break after almost two and a half hours on court.
The Spaniard was quick to draw attention to the efforts of her opponent soon after claiming victory.
“It was a very tough match, I think she (Jabeur) was playing pretty incredible,” Muguruza said.
“When your opponent is playing like that you have to level up and stay with her until the last moment.”
“I’m happy with my fighting spirit.”
Muguruza will meet the Veronika Kudermetova in the quarterfinals after the fifth seed won through against American Catherine Bellis.
Two-time champion and top seed Elise Mertens recorded a convincing straight sets win over qualifier Viktoria Kuzmova, while third seed Elena Rybakina followed suit in the very next match on centre court, consistently overpowering 2016 champion Alize Cornet with pinpoint groundstrokes.
In other matches, fourth seed Zhang Shuai (CHN) displayed her backhand prowess on her way to a win over Kateryna Kozlova (UKR), while qualifier and 2015 champion Heather Watson made it four wins in as many days, defeating Fiona Ferro in the final match of the night.
Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck recorded a straight sets win over Australian duo Lizette Cabrera and Sam Stosur in the first of the doubles quarterfinals matches.
There were 69 aces served up today, taking the tournament total to 204.
With $100 for every ace being donated to the #Aces4BushfireRelief campaign this summer, it takes our contribution to $20,400.
Kristyna Pliskova led the daily individual ace tally with 14, while Veronika Kudermetova served up 12 aces.
Tickets for the Hobart International are on sale now via Ticketmaster.
Prices start from $20 for adults and entry is free for children with a paying adult across the entire event, including finals.