WTA Rally | Tomljanovic retires in Rabat, Pliskova and Kerber win in Strasbourg
WTA 250 – Grand Prix Sar La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Rabat, Morocco
Favorite for the title following Garbiñe Muguruza’s early departure from the Moroccan Open on Wednesday, second-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic was forced to withdraw from her quarter-final through injury on Thursday, sending Anna Bondar through to the semis.
The No.1 Australian came onto the pitch with her right thigh tightly strapped down and never looked happy with her movement during the 20-minute game against the in-form Hungarian on Thursday, retiring as she trailed 5- 1 in the first set.
After Bondar served an ace to win Game 6 of the day’s opener at Club Des Cheminots de Rabat, Tomljanovic called the coach and immediately decided to retire, casting a cloud over his Roland Garros preparations .
It was not immediately clear whether she had made the decision purely as a precaution with Roland Garros just 4 days away.
A former runner-up and semi-finalist in Rabat, Tomljanovic had looked good beating Anna Schmiedlova 7-5 6-2 on Tuesday to advance to her second quarter-final of the season after reaching the last 8 in Istanbul last month.
“I love coming back here to Rabat – it’s my third time – and I’ve always had such a good time and I’m still here,” said Tomjlanovic. “If I could choose where my first title would be, I wouldn’t mind being here.
“But there’s a very long way there, so I’m just going one step at a time.”
It was an earlier than expected start for Australian No 4 Sharma, who on the court immediately afterwards suffered her second heavy loss in less than 3 weeks to American Claire Liu.
With the prospect of an all-Australian semi-final already extinguished, Sharma followed compatriot Tomljanovic onto the clay court, only to be heavily beaten by the 21-year-old prospect, 6-4 6-1, in another encounter in the last 8. .
Sharma, who only managed to take 3 games from Liu at the recent Saint-Malo Open, fought harder in the first set, but her game fell apart in the second, as she spat 40 unforced errors during the 80 minutes. competition.
Liu, who is having a good run after reaching a quarter-final and then winning the title in his last 2 ITF tournaments on French clay, has picked up 3 wins this week and faces Bondar on Friday for a place in the final in Rabat.
The second semi-final sees 2 Italians line up, with Martina Trevisan, who upset top seed Muguruza in round 2, against Lucia Bronzetti, also a recent winner of the ITF title.
Trevisan edged past 7th seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, 7-6(4) 6-3, while Bronzetti cruised through her 2nd 3-setter of the week against Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz, the 3rd seed, 6-1 3-6 7-6(5).
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WTA 250 – Strasbourg International
The semi-finals also took place on Thursday in Strasbourg, with top seeds Karolina Pliskova and Angelique Kerber lined up to face Kaja Juvan and Océane Dodin respectively on Friday.
Pliskova’s form has been spotty lately, having suffered 3 straight losses and only 2 wins for 6 losses, but the world number 8 managed a relatively easy draw for the last 4 which is a good confidence boost in front Paris.
In fact, the Czech was impressive in her quarter-final match against Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska, rallying twice after a breakdown in the second set, as well as facing 4 set points, and still managing to score a tight and straight game. sets won, 6-4 7-6(6).
On paper, Kaja Juvan is a beatable semi-final opponent, ranked just outside the top 80, but the Slovak is in fine form this week and upset 4th-seeded Elise Mertens, also from Belgium, 7-6. (3) 6-4.
The 21-year-old is yet to make a WTA Finals and, no doubt, is now relishing a new challenge in Pliskova.
Kerber, the 2nd seed, may be 34, but the left-handed German, who has won 3 Grand Slam titles in her career, tends to string together good streaks leading to a major, and although she is arrived in Strasbourg after 6 consecutive defeats, she now finds herself in the semi-finals and a real chance for the title.
Her last 2 games here may have been tough, but Kerber always found a way to work her way to clay, against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in round 2, and now produces a 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over Polish No. 2, Magda Linette to make the final 4.
On the other side of the net will be France’s Dodin, who is hoping for her first WTA final in 6 years after demolishing 9th seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-3 6-0.
The hometown favorite produced an unexpected dominating performance against the world No. 60 but now faces fiercer opposition from Kerber who, once started, is hard to stop.
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