Pliskova, Muguruza restore order, reach Dubai quarters
Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza re-established order among seeds on Wednesday as both reached the quarter finals of the WTA Dubai Championships.
While number two Czech Pliskova strolled in barely an hour to a 6-1 6-2 defeat of qualifier Kristina Mladenovic, it took number nine Muguruza almost two and a half hours to get past Russian Veronika Kudermetova 7-5 4-6 6-4.
The pair of victories came a day after three major names made exits, with holder Belinda Bencic, third seed Elina Svitolina and Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin all going out.
Tournament number one Simona Halep was making her start later, facing sentimental fan favourite Ons Jabeur of Tunisia.
Pliskova pegged back Mladenovic after the Frenchwoman earned only her first main draw win of the season in the first round.
"It's always a tough one against her. We played in Australia, so I knew what to expect," Pliskova said.
"I was not playing amazing but still, even with a couple of mistakes, I didn't give up.
"The ...