Lidiya Encheva was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the hard court tennis tournament in Istanbul with a prize pool of 40,000 US dollars. The world number 324 lost to the representative of Belarus Anna Kubareva 1:6, 3:6 in 80 minutes.
The Bulgarian allowed four breaks in the match and failed to reach a single break point. Kubareva convincingly took the first set, and in the second part she again imposed an advantage in the key games to close the match in two sets.
The Bulgarian national player for the “Billie Jean King Cup“ was placed at number 8 in the main draw. In the first round she defeated Maria Sara Popa 6:2, 6:2, and in the second she made a comeback against the home representative Cagla Buyukaccay 3:6, 6:2, 6:4. It was this success that secured Encheva a place among the top eight in the tournament.
Kubareva reached the quarterfinals after victories over Ursula Radwanska and Ekaterina Dotsenko. The match in Istanbul was the first between the 20-year-old Bulgarian and the 25-year-old Belarusian tennis player. Anna Kubareva has also represented Belarus in the “Billie Jean King Cup“ tournament.