Gagliardi through to quarterfinals
Swiss tennis player Emmanuelle Gagliardi is through to the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Auckland after beating American Kristina Brandi.
With a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Brandi, the Swiss player defeated the American world number 77 for the fourth time in a row.
Gagliardi will meet Russian Anna Kurnikowa in the quarterfinals.
Swiss Patty Schnyder suffered a crushing defeat against American Venus Williams in the Australian women’s hardcourt championship at the Gold Coast.
The world number three beat Schnyder 6-0, 6-4 on a sweltering day after the Swiss tennis star got through to the second round by defeating Czech player Klara Koukalova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
The thermometer hit 40 degrees Celsius on centre court at the Royal Pines Resort, forcing players and spectators to reach for towels and fans to cool off.
Top seed Williams is using the championship at the Gold Coast in Queensland state as part of her preparation for the Australian Open starting on January 14 in Melbourne.
The US Open and Wimbledon champion is due to meet second seed and defending champion, the Belgian teenager Justine Henin, in the final.
Henin lost to Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Michel Kratochvil was beaten by Moroccan Hicham Arazi 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 in the men’s hardcourt championships in Adelaide on Wednesday.
swissinfo with agencies
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.