World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka had to dig deep on Friday, spending more than two hours on the court before finally putting away unseeded Nikola Bartunkova to secure her place in the Berlin Tennis Open semifinals.
Bartunkova, a Czech player currently ranked 62nd in the world, grabbed the opening set and gave Sabalenka plenty of trouble throughout the match. In the end, however, the top-seeded Belarusian prevailed 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a contest that stretched two hours and 23 minutes. Bartunkova had numerous chances to break serve, converting just six of 17 opportunities, while Sabalenka was far more efficient, capitalizing on five of her eight break-point chances.
Sabalenka’s next opponent will be third-seeded Jessica Pegula, who earned her semifinal berth with a tightly contested 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) win over Madison Keys. Keys held a significant edge in aces at 10-5, but managed to convert only two of seven break-point chances, which ultimately cost her the match.
In the other semifinal matchup, Czech player Linda Noskova, seeded eighth, cruised past Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-3 and will take on unseeded Alexandra Eala on Saturday. Eala, a native of the Philippines, continued her impressive run at the tournament by defeating sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, following her earlier upset win over No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina.
Lexus Nottingham Open
At the WTA 250 event in Nottingham, United Kingdom, Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic kept her surprising tournament run alive with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory over fifth-seeded Ann Li.
Golubic, 33 years old and ranked 76th in the world, proved especially effective against Li’s second serve in the deciding set, winning eight of 12 points on those deliveries.
She will face third-seeded Emma Navarro in Saturday’s semifinal. Navarro reached that round by dispatching Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-6 (6), 6-2.
The other semifinal is an all-Czech affair, pitting fourth-seeded Marie Bouzkova against unseeded Karolina Pliskova. Bouzkova moved on with a dominant 7-5, 6-0 win over Germany’s Tatjana Maria, while Pliskova eliminated Australia’s Talia Gibson 7-5, 6-4.
