Halep ousted by world No. 74 Allertova; Jankovic in semis
Guangzhou, September 24
Czech Denisa Allertova stunned world No. 2 Simona Halep 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open on Thursday.
The win against the Romanian top seed gave the 22-year-old, ranked 74 in the world, only her second victory against a top 10 player after she defeated Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round of the US Open recently.
After going up 5-4 in the first set, Allertova won six of the next seven games for a 5-1 lead in the second and then closed the match out with a backhand winner.
“I am feeling amazing because I won against Halep, she’s a great player, ranked No. 2. I can breathe now!” Allertova said. “I don’t know, I was just trying to focus on every point, not looking at who’s on the other side, just focusing on myself and playing my tennis. I was fighting every point and it worked. I’m so happy.”
Earlier, unseeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium defeated another Romanian in sixth seed Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-2 while third seed Sara Errani powered past local hope Zheng Saisai 6-1 6-0 for a semifinal meeting with Allertova. Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, number four seed, also reached the last four by defeating fifth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 7-5.
Ivanovic, Radwanska enter quarterfinals
Tokyo: Defending champion Ana Ivanovic survived a brave challenge from Italian Camila Giorgi at the Pan Pacific Open, managing a tough 7-5 6-2 victory.
The victory put the second-seeded Serb in a quarterfinal against Dominika Cibulkova in a rematch of the US Open where Ivanovic was ousted by the Slovak.
Cibulkova beat sixth seed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-4.
Ivanovic struggled to keep full control of the match, particularly in the first set when she served five double faults. Giorgi fired a succession of big serves and deep returns to stay with Ivanovic but the world No. 12 Serb managed to win the set.
In the second set, Giorgi led 2-0, however, Ivanovic made a strong comeback to win the next six games and the set 6-2 in one hour and 39 minutes.
In other matches, Agnieszka Radwanska, the winner of the 2011 edition, cruised past Elina Svitolina with a 6-4 6-1 victory.
In the quarterfinals, the seventh-seeded Pole will face fourth-seeded Czech Karolina Pliskova, who beat Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-2 6-4. — Reuters, AFP
