WTA Lausanne: Korpatsch, Cornet, Ferro and Pera stay on title course
The 24-year-old German Tamara Korpatsch is through to her first WTA semi-final, defeating Jil Teichmann 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 in two hours and four minutes. Teichmann had the edge in the first set, scoring breaks in games three and nine before fading from the court, allowing Korpatch to grab 12 of the last 13 games and march into the final four. World no. 142 recovered her game after a slow start, delivering a bagel in set number two and controlling the pace in the decider with three breaks of serve for the career-best result, losing the previous three quarter-finals she entered. The 3rd seed Alize Cornet is through to her first WTA semi-final since January, toppling Natalia Vikhlyantseva 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in an hour and 52 minutes.
Both players had their opportunities on the return and it was all about Cornet once she settled into the desired rhythm, playing better on the second serve and having the upper hand in sets two and three despite getting broken five times, with four of those coming in the first set. She claimed 56% of the return points, breaking the Russian eight times from 12 opportunities and sealing the deal with back-to-back breaks in games four and six in set number three that sent her over the finish line. After Lugano in April, the 22-year-old Fiona Ferro is through to another WTA semi-final in Switzerland, beating the Australian veteran Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 20 minutes. The French player lost just 18 points in nine service games, fending off two out of three break points and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net that Stosur couldn't endure.
Ferro grabbed almost half of the return points, securing four breaks and never looking back after the pivotal one at 3-3 in the opener that gave her the momentum enough to carry her towards the finish line. Bernarda Pera will compete in the third WTA semi-final after a hard-fought 6-0, 5-7, 6-3 triumph over a lucky lose Hinyun Han in two hours and 14 minutes. Both players had ten break chances and it was Pera who used them more efficiently, fending off seven of those and seizing six on the other side to cross the finish line first. The American born in Zadar, Croatia, made a perfect start, storming over the Chinese rival in the opener for a 6-0, saving two set points in the ninth game of the second set to prolong it before Han grabbed another break at 5-5 to send the match into a decider. There, Bernarda earned two breaks and repelled a break point in the ninth game to move over the top and stay in the title chase.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YZVJjz
No comments