Mirra Andreeva advanced to the Last 4 in China when Barbora Krejcikova retired mid match in Ningbo, while Diane Parry, the last seed standing in Osaka, beat Clara Tauson to reach the semis at the Japan Open…
I didn’t want three sets, for sure, but I was expecting something like that, because always when I play against Yulia [Putintseva] something like that happens. Daria Kasatkina
China | WTA 500 Ningbo Open
Mirra Andreeva advanced to the semi-finals when Barbora Krejcikova retired, while Paula Badosa upset Beatriz Haddad Maia, Daria Kasatkina edged past Yulia Putintseva, and Karolina Muchova took down Anna Kalinskaya in the quarter-finals in Ningbo.
17-year old Andreeva from Russia made it into her 3rd semi-final of the season when Czech Krejcikova retired trailing 7-6(5), 3-2.
Andreeva meets Muchova, after the unseeded Czech came from a set down to move past Kalinskaya, the 7th seed, 2-6 6-2 6-3, improving to 3-0 overall against the Russian.
It took Muchova 2 hours and 31 minutes to advance to her 4th semi-final out of the 8 tournaments she has played so far this year.
Badosa, the 8th seed from Spain, powered past Haddad Maia, the 6th seed, 6-3 6-2, to reach her 4th semi-final of the year, improving to 2-1 overall against the Brazilian.
The Spaniard converted her 2nd break point in the 6th game of the opener to take a 4-2 lead, and while Haddad Maia saved a set point when she was serving to stay in the set, Badosa served it out on her 3rd chance.
Badosa then broke twice in the 3rd and 5th games to seal the win on her 1st match point.
5th seed Daria Kasatkina pipped Yulia Putintseva at the post in a 3rd set breaker at the Ningbo Open in eastern China’s Zhejiang province on Friday
© Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
In the match of the day, Kasatkina, the Russian 5th seed, saved 2 match points before beating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in a decisive tiebreak, 6-4 1-6 7-6(6), reaching the semi-final after a 2 hour 41 minute battle.
“I didn’t want three sets, for sure,” said Kasatkina after completing her 23rd match of the season to go the distance. “But I was expecting something like that, because always when I play against Yulia something like that happens.
“I feel the whole match I was always down in the score, but I knew I would have a chance to come back, and I did. Tennis is like that. If you fight, 99% of the time you get your chance. I thought the level was pretty high — we fought our butts off through this match.”
Putintseva broke serve in the 4th game of the first set, and held serve to open up a 4-1 lead, before Kasatkina came back by winning 5 consecutive games with 2 breaks of serve to close out the opener.
In the second, Putintseva’s variety was on full show as she raced out to pocket the set with the loss of just 1 game, delighting the crowd with delicately spun volleys and down-the-line redirections as well using as her signature drop-shot.
Putintseva earned an early break in the first game of the decider, but Kasatkina broke back to draw level at 2-2, before she went down 2-4 after dropping her serve in the 5th game.
The Russian pulled the break back with a forehand to draw level at 4-4, and saved a match point at 4-6 down in the deciding breaker with another forehand winner, before taking 3 consecutive points to close out the match after 2 hours and 41 minutes, and reach her 6th semi-final of 2024.
Kasatkina won fewer points than Putintseva, 95 to 104, struck fewer winners, 33 to 37, and committed more unforced errors, 47 to 43, in the thrilling encounter.
The World No 11 was also almost undone by 8 double-faults, including 2 in the third-set tiebreak, but Kasatkina was able to find her best tennis in crucial passages of play.
It was Kasatkina’s 23rd match win of the season decided by a third set, winning for the second time in her 3 head-to-head matches against Putintseva, and setting up a Last 4 clash against Badosa.
Diane Parry defeated Clara Tauson in 3 sets to reach the semi-finals of WTA 250 Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka
© Shi Tang/Getty Images
Osaka | WTA 250 Kinoshita Group Japan Open
Diane Parry, the only seed left standing in the quarter-finals in Osaka, battled past Clara Tauson to reach her 3rd semi-final of 2024, where she will meet Suzan Lamens, while lucky loser Aoi Ito and qualifier Kimberley Birrell, will meet for a spot in the final.
Seeded 7, Frenchwoman Parry pulled out a 3-set win over Denmark’s Tauson, 6-3 1-6 6-3, in the first pro meeting between the two that lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes,
Tauson had won their only junior encounter in 2017.
Dutch qualifier Lamens got the better of Romanian qualifier Ana Bogdan, 4-6 6-3 6-3, coming from a set down to book her first WTA semi-final appearance.
Japan’s qualifier, Ito, making her first WTA main draw appearance, continued her dream run in Osaka, overcoming Eva Lys, a German lucky loser, 6-7(8) 6-2 6-3, to reach the Last 4 on home soil.
The 20-year old Ito recovered after losing the first set from a set point up to win after 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Australian qualifier Birrell, though, halted Japanese wild-card Sara Saito’s run, 7-5 6-4, to also make her first WTA semi-final.
Birrell had to come from 2-5 down in the first set to defeat 18-year old Saito in an hour and 39 minutes.
