Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei battled and made it tough, but she could not stop second seed Lucie Safarova advancing to the semi-finals of the Prague Open on Thursday.
Going into the tournament, the Czech world No. 16 had not won a match this season and she came up against a tricky opponent in the Taiwanese world No. 78 before eventually claiming a 7-6 (7/3), 7-5 victory in 1 hour, 47 minutes.
Safarova saved six of nine break points and converted four of eight, winning 84 of the 158 points contested in a topsy-turvy encounter to improve her career record against Hsieh to 2-0.
“She’s always a very tricky player, defending the court very well, and I’m very excited to be through to the semis,” Safarova told the WTA Web site.
The second seed was due to face fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals after the third seed took just 50 minutes to rout Camila Giorgi of Italy 6-2, 6-1 on another chilly day in the Czech capital.
Pliskova and Safarova met only last week in Stuttgart, Germany, the former coming through a third-set tiebreak, but Safarova was bullish heading into the rematch.
“I was on the way back already in Stuttgart, where I had a great match, and I was hoping the results would come. I’m happy and excited that it’s going this well,” Safarova said.
In the top half on the draw, Russian top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova rallied from a set down to oust Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in 2 hours, 15 minutes and set up a semi-final against Australian fourth seed Samantha Stosur, who edged a tough almost three-hour battle against Czech fifth seed Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4).
GRAND PRIX SAR
AP, RABAT
Top seed Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland advanced to the semi-finals of the Grand Prix SAR, saving all four break points that she faced against Johanna Larsson of Sweden in a 6-4, 6-1 win on Thursday.
World No. 15 Bacsinszky broke Larsson’s serve three times and was next due to face fifth seed Timea Babos of Hungary for the first time in six years.
Babos took out Pauline Parmentier of France 6-3, 6-3 to reach her second WTA Tour semi-final of the year.
Former champion Kiki Bertens needed nearly three hours to beat eighth seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3.
Bertens, who won her only WTA Tour career title in Rabat in 2012, saved 13 of 15 break points on her serve.
She was next due to face world No. 186 Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, who beat Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia 6-4, 6-4 in a clash between two qualifiers.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
RSS