The skilled woman who just keeps going

Robin Montgomery wasn’t supposed to be there. Having come through qualifying and starting the week ranked 484th in the world, she tore through this Hertogenbosch draw like a force of nature: five straight wins, including a comeback against Kasatkina and a clear, controlled performance against Minnen on Wednesday in 1h29, with 100% of break points converted and a lefty serve that has been doing damage all week. Her 30 aces in the tournament and her ability to raise her level match after match tell the story of a player who has rediscovered her feel on grass after 228 days out due to her 2025 injury.

Daria Snigur reaches the quarterfinals with two less convincing wins. Badosa was coming off a month and a half without competition, and Udvardy played a match chopped up by rain delays. The 2019 Wimbledon junior champion has grass in her veins and a WTA 125 title this season on hard courts, but on this particular grass this week, she has played 57 fewer games than her opponent and averaged just one ace per match, whereas Montgomery is blasting 7.5. The American’s left-handed serve is aimed exactly at the wide backhand that baseline players find hardest to neutralize on this surface.