KATOWICE, Poland – She needed six match points and more than two hours but No.5 seed Camila Giorgi is through to the quarterfinals of the Katowice Open with a win over Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

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The big-hitting Italian was under pressure from the word go, dropping her opening service game and letting slip five break back opportunities in the next game to allow Alexandrova an early lead. History repeated itself, but this this time in favor of Giorgi – the Italian broke Alexandrova’s serve then saved four break points to even up the score at 3-3. Aided by her huge first serves – she hit nine aces during the match – the Russian took the first set 6-4.

But Alexandrova, who was playing in her career first WTA main draw, couldn’t keep up the intensity against the two-time Katowice finalist. Giorgi quickly took back the second set, and the two traded breaks early in the deciding set. Alexandrova showed plenty of fight while serving to stay in the match – she relied on her heavy first serves to keep her in as Giorgi brought up match point after match point. In the end, the Italian converted on her sixth opportunity, booking her spot into the Katowice quarterfinals with a hard-fought win.

“I’m really happy for this win today,” Giorgi said. “It wasn’t easy in the third set and I really want to say thank you to the fans for all the support. I hope everyone can come back on Friday [for my quarterfinal] and I can keep going in the tournament.”

Giorgi is set to play No.9 seed Kirsten Flipkens, who also made her way to the quarterfinals today with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Andreea Mitu, in the next round.

Things were more difficult for No.2 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova after Pauline Parmentier dealt her the biggest upset of the day. The Frenchwoman defeated her soundly 6-2, 6-0 and sent the defending Katowice champion crashing out in the first round in less than an hour.

“I was very focused from the beginning of the match,” Parmentier said. “After breaking straight away in the first game, I was really feeling good in my game. I served good, was really aggressive, and obviously it worked perfect today.”

The rest of the seeds at the Katowice Open advanced with ease, with Dominika Cibulkova, Jelena Ostapenko and Timea Babos notching straight sets wins.