Zhu Lin continued her title defence at the Thailand Open on Friday, leading a Chinese charge into the semi-finals with a straight sets win over Arina Rodionova, while Wang Xinyu and Wang Yafan had to go the distance to get past Yulia Putintseva and Katie Volynets respectively, but Russian teenager Diane Shnaider easily saw off Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi with the loss of just 3 games.
Never give up, I guess? Arina Rodionova
Second-seeded Zhu stopped Australian No 1 Arina Rodionova’s run, 6-3 6-3, in the quarter-finals, taking 75 minutes to set up a Last 4 contest with her fellow Chinese and unseeded Wang Yafan.
30-year old Zhu held a 5-1 edge in aces and won 22 of her 29 first-service points, 76%, against Rodionova to ease into the semi-finals, from where she will try to emulate her title victory at last year’s tournament, which marked the first tour-level title of her career.
Zhu has now won 7 straight matches in Hua Hin, but must get past her compatriot Wang Yafan, who upset 8th seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova from Slovakia, and edged past American Volynets, 1-6 6-3 7-6(4), after a thrilling 2 hour 40 minute Last 8 battle on Friday.
Despite her loss, next week Arina Rodionova becomes the oldest woman to make the Top 100 for the first time at the age of 30 years 52 days in Thailand
© Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Rodionova made tennis history in Hua Hin as she becomes the oldest women’s player to debut in the world’s Top 100 at the age of 34 and 52 days, having already knocked out two Chinese players en route to the Last 8, which was her first quarter-final appearance at tour-level for 7 years.
Ranked 101 in the world this week, Russian-born Rodionova found the 30-year-old reigning champ Zhu a step too far, but exits on a high in the knowledge that she is finally reaching the Top 100 after a 20-year slog in her professional career.
“Never give up, I guess?” the Aussie reflected in a social media post.
Next Monday, when the new WTA rankings come out, she will beat the record of the previous oldest Top 100 debutant, Israel player Tzipi Obziler, who was 33 years and 8 months when she first broke through in February 2007.
Zhu, the World No 45, proved too strong on the hard court, cracking Rodionova’s serve 4 times in a see-sawing opening set, before grabbing her chance for the only break in the penultimate game of the second.
Meanwhile Wang Xinyu, seeded 3, also made it into the Last 4 by outlasting Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, the 7th seed, 6-1 3-6 6-3, after 2 hours and 12 minutes, and she will face Shnaider for a slot in the final.
The result was also Wang Xinyu’s third victory over Putintseva in as many meetings, twice in 2024 already and all 3 in the past 5 months.
Diana Shnaider, 19, reached the 4th tour-level semi-final of her career in the past 7 months at the Thailand Open after defeating qualifier Dalma Galfi in straight sets on Friday.
WTAtennis.com
Only Shnaider, the Russian 19-year old, was able to ensure there would not be a Chinese monopoly of the semi-finals, in what is the first time that 3 Chinese women have featured in the Last 4 of a WTA Tour event since pre-pandemic Nanchang in 2018.
Shnaider, a highly promising left-hander, will be featuring in her 4th semi-final in 7 months after her straight-forward win over Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi, 6-2 6-1, in just 75 minutes, who had beaten another Australia, Ajla Tomljanovic, earlier in the event.
Wang Xinyu and Shnaider will contest their semi-final in Hua Hin on Saturday.
No 3 seed Wang Xinyu defeated No 7 Yulia Putintseva in 3 sets to reach the Last 4 for a second year running, her 3rd win over the Russian-born Kazakh in as many meetings, twice in 2024, and all 3 in the past 5 months.
WTAtennis.com
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