Second seed Danka Kovinic will lock horns with world No. 182 Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals of the Copa LP Chile.
The Montenegrin veteran came into the tournament as one of the favorites alongside Mayar Sherif. Kovinic has done well so far in the competition.
The 27-year-old bageled Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first set in their encounter in the round of 32. Kovinic eventually won the match 6-0, 6-3. Kovinic encountered a mini scare in her second match when she lost the second set to Yuki Naito. However, her experience allowed her to get the better of the Japanese youngster 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. She will once again bank on her experience to get past the big-serving Shnaider.
The Russian teenager has also been quite impressive in the tournament so far. She has won both her matches in straight sets and with relative ease. The 18-year-old will climb the rankings to a new career high after the update. This will be the first quarter-final appearance at a WTA 125 event for Shnaider.
In the round of 32, the southpaw had to dig deep to win the first set against local wildcard Fernanda Labrana. However, in the second set, Shnaider decimated her opponent and won the match 7-5, 6-3. In the round of 16, Shnaider defeated Sara Bejlek convincingly in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as Danka Kovinic and Diana Shnaider have not crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Danka Kovinic to win in straight sets.
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