French teenager Anne-Gaelle Sidot, ranked 74th in the world, caused a major upset yesterday when she beat top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round of the $450,000 WTA Tour event in Leipzig.
Sidot (19) gained the dubious reward of a quarter-final meeting with another former world number one, Steffi Graf.
Graf, who is back in action after being absent for two months after undergoing a hand operation, beat sixth-seeded Japanese player Ai Sugiyama, 6-4, 6-3.
"Struggling against Sugiyama and winning has given me extra confidence for my next match," said Graf. "I had been expecting to play Sanchez, but anyone who can beat her certainly has to be dangerous. I will need to take my chances."
In another second-round encounter, France's Nathalie Tauziat beat Russia's Elena Likhovtseva 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 while third-seeded Belgian Dominique Van Roost downed Croatia's Iva Majoli 6-4, 6-4.
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