The number seven seed Jelena Ostapenko will meet the number two seed Anett Kontaveit in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy semi-finals after they each prevailed in tricky quarterfinal meetings on Friday.
Ostapenko of Latvia needed a grueling two hours and 27 minutes to stave off a stern challenge from World No.71 Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, eventually prevailing 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3.
Kontaveit of Estonia had a slightly easier time defeating No.5 seed and reigning Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, grabbing a 7-6(7), 6-2 win in an hour and 42 minutes.
Earlier, the number one seed Maria Sakkari continued to live up to her billing with a 7-6(7), 6-2 win over No.8 seed Elise Mertens.
Sakkari saved three set points in a narrowly contested first set before sealing it on her own third opportunity, and converted her fourth match point after 2 hours and 7 minutes.
In the semifinals, Sakkari will face Irina-Camelia Begu, who defeated Tereza Martincova 6-4, 6-2 in an all-unseeded encounter. The Romanian triumphed in 1 hour and 25 minutes to book her biggest semifinal in over four years.
( With inputs from ANI )
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