(Hong Kong) Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez reached the semi-finals of a tournament for the first time in 19 months on Friday when she beat Linda Fruhvirtova 7-6 (2), 6-2 at the Open d ‘Hong Kong.
Fernandez placed almost 80% of his first serves in play and took advantage of three of the seven break points offered by his opponent, while saving four of five on his side.
The 21-year-old world number 19 will face Anna Blinkova in the final four. The fifth seed defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (3), 6-3.
The other semi-final will pit Martina Trevisan and Katerina Siniakova against each other.
Trevisan defeated third seed Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-3. Siniakova, for her part, triumphed over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (1), 6-4.
At the Korean Open, American Jessica Pegula reached the semifinals by eliminating Claire Liu 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
The fourth racket in the world, who wants to win a fourth tournament this season, will face Yanina Wickmayer, who defeated Polina Kudermetova 6-3, 6-1.
Another American, Emina Bektas, also reached the final four by defeating Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Ranked 116th in the world, Bektas will face Yuan Yue, who defeated fourth seed Marie Bouzkova 7-5, 7-6 (7).
Finally, at the Zhengzhou Open, Daria Kasatkina moved to the semi-finals without playing the quarters. She took advantage of Ons Jabeur dropping out due to a knee injury suffered in the second round.
Kasatkina will face Barbora Krejcikova, who was leading 6-3 in front of Lesia Tsurenko when the Ukrainian withdrew.
Jasmine Paolini, who eliminated top seed Victoria Azarenka in the previous round, continued her run by defeating Laura Siegemund 6-0, 7-5. She will face Qinwen Zheng, who defeated Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-2.
