Taiwanese No. 1 Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the ASB Classic semi-finals in Auckland, New Zealand, to set up a showdown with Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu, who stunned Venus Williams in their quarter-final to continue her giant-killing run.
Third seed Hsieh defeated world No. 86 Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour, 17 minutes in the quarter-finals.
The Kaohsiung-born world No. 28 saved five of seven break points and converted six of seven, winning 67 of the 116 points contested to improve her career record over the Spaniard to 3-0 after her victories in New Haven, Connecticut, last year and in Budapest in 2017.
Photo: AFP
Hsieh, who is looking to claim her fourth WTA Tour title in Auckland, faces 18-year-old world No. 152 Andreescu in today’s semi-final after the Canadian rallied to beat Williams, 20 years her senior and a seven-time Grand Slam winner, 6-7 (1/7), 6-1, 6-3.
The come-from-behind victory came a day after she eliminated top seed and world No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki.
Andreescu broke Williams eight times in the match as she slugged it out from the baseline and mixed in smart drop shots that the 38-year-old American struggled to reach.
Williams, who had been a professional for six years before Andreescu was born, took the first set and broke Andreescu at the start of the second.
From there the young Canadian reeled off 11 games in a row before a Williams rally briefly prolonged the deciding set.
Earlier, defending champion Julia Goerges, who is to play Viktoria Kuzmova in the other semi-final, fought back from match point to overpower Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in a three-set cliffhanger 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).
Despite the distraction of blustery wind, Bouchard seemed headed for an upset over the tournament second seed when she won the first set.
However, Goerges refused to give up and rallied from 0-3 in the third set and also faced match point at 5-6 before winning the deciding tiebreaker.
“It’s the biggest part I’ve learned in the last two or three years when I got up the rankings,” Goerges said. “So for me it’s not about giving up, it’s about finding solutions and trying to find a way to get a winner.”
In a clash of the rising stars, 20-year-old Kuzmova outlasted 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Wild-card Anisimova had stunned fifth seed Barbora Strycova in the second round and was up a break early in the third set, but could not maintain consistency in the windy conditions.
SHENZHEN OPEN
AP, SHENZHEN, China
Maria Sharapova yesterday retired from her match at the Shenzhen Open with an injury, giving top seed Aryna Sabalenka a spot in the semi-finals.
The fifth seed was trailing 6-1, 4-2 when she stopped because of a left thigh injury.
Sharapova received off-court medical treatment between the two sets.
Sabalenka is next to face Wang Yafan, who beat qualifier Monica Niculescu 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.
“I will do my best in the season to get to the finals here,” Sabalenka said. “Last year I was so close, and so upset in the beginning when I did not make it, but this year I’m going to do my best, even better than last year.”
Alison Riske is to face Vera Zvonareva in the other semi-final.
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