Jelena Ostapenko tops Emma Navarro for Iga Swiatek Stuttgart clash; Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula roll

Jelena Ostapenko will look to extend her unbeaten record over Iga Swiatek come Saturday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, as a pair of seeded competitors fell Friday.

The Latvian confirmed the latest showdown when she eliminated seventh seed Emma Navarro, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, in the second round. Over the final set, Ostapenko won 62 percent of her return points to break Navarro three times.

Up until now, Ostapenko and Swiatek have never met on a clay court. Earlier this year, the 2017 Roland Garros champion improved to 5-0 by decisively claiming their Doha semifinal, 6-3, 6-1.

Read More: Swiatek in Stuttgart—from clay court to carpool karaoke!

Ekaterina Alexandrova ousted sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, 6-3, 6-2, firing eight aces to seal her fourth Top 10 win of the season. Alexandrova is coming off a semifinal showing at Charleston’s green-clay 500-level event, where she was edged out by eventual titlist Jessica Pegula 7-5 in the third. The world No. 22 gets a shot at winning a rubber match (having prevailed in Doha) with the American, as Pegula and Coco Gauff rolled through their openers with identical 6-1, 6-1 scorelines.

Having recently supplanted Gauff at No. 3 in the rankings, Pegula went five for five on her break point chances to dispatch Magdalena Frech. The 31-year-old has won 11 of her past 12 matches, having finished runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open ahead of her Charleston triumph.

Read More: What does Pegula's last six weeks say about her next six months?

Like her former doubles partner, Gauff did not drop serve in overwhelming German lucky loser Ella Seidel for a last-eight encounter with 2024 French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini. The No. 5 seed defeated Jule Niemeier, 6-1, 7-5.

Quarterfinal action will commence Saturday, with the tournament observing Good Friday.