Eastbourne International: Kyle Edmund loses to Mikhail Kukushkin; defending champion Karolina Pliskova ousted

Eastbourne: Marco Cecchinato of Italy is the only seeded male player left in the Eastbourne International after Kyle Edmund and Denis Shapovalov were both eliminated in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Second-seeded Edmund lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. [caption id=“attachment_4630601” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mikhail Kukushkin (R) shakes hands with Kyle Edmund after their quarter-final match. AFP[/caption] Edmund fought back from a break down to take the opening set but was broken by the World No 90 in the third game of the second set and again in the ninth, following a double fault. Kukushkin clearly had the momentum and won the first three games of the decider. Edmund’s frustration was clear and the British No 1 had a prolonged argument with umpire Arnaud Gabas over a line call. Kukushkin will face Mischa Zverev in the semi-finals after the German’s surprise 6-3, 6-3 victory over third-seeded Shapovalov of Canada. Cecchinato, who is seeded fourth, will face Lukas Lacko in the other semi-final after beating John Millman of Australia 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Lacko, who knocked out top-seeded Diego Schwartzman in the second round on Wednesday, comfortably dispatched British No 2 Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4. There were also surprises in the women’s draw as defending champion Karolina Pliskova was upset by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. The second-seeded Czech player, who has reached the final in the past two years, lost 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) in 2 hours, 12 minutes. It was Sabalenka’s first win over a top-10 player. Sabalenka, who is ranked 45th in the world, fought back from a 4-1 deficit in the deciding set and clinched the match when Pliskova sent a forehand wide. Sabalenka will face 2008 champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals after the Pole eased past fifth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 7-5. Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki survived a scare to beat Ashleigh Barty of Australia 6-4, 6-3. The eighth-seeded Barty broke twice in the second set but Wozniacki broke straight back each time and the Danish player won four successive games to book her semi-final spot, sealing the result when Barty returned into the net. Wozniacki will play fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber, who prevailed over Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3). Kerber seemed on her way to a comfortable win as the German powered through the first set in just 19 minutes. But the seventh-seeded Kasatkina recovered from her terrible start and the Russian pushed Kerber all the way. Both players appeared to struggle on their serve — with Kasatkina in particular racking up 10 double faults. There were several breaks of serve before Kerber triumphed in little over two hours.