Co-favourite Angelique Kerber has been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells. The Spaniard Paula Badosa won in two close sets.
The 33-year-old Kerber was the highest seed remaining in the tournament but she lost to Spain’s Paula Badosa 4-6, 5-7 in 86 minutes on Thursday (local time), diminishing Kerber’s chances of making the WTA Finals after all.
Badosa, who had already reached the quarter-finals at the French Open, managed to break at 4-4 in the first set. In the second set, the 23-year-old built a 5-2 lead. Kerber came back and equalised, but in the end Badosa had the upper hand. While Kerber’s dream of a return to the finals in California is over, her opponent will meet Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in the semi-finals.