Three of the four quarter-final matches at the Nottingham Open on Friday featured upsets, including that of the tournament top seed, Maria Sakkari. Beatriz Haddad Maia seeded seventh ousted the Greek, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 36 minutes.
The Brazilian struggled to win points off her second serves – 29% to Sakkari’s 41% but did well to save seven of the nine break points she faced while converting three break points on her opponent’s serve. In terms of first-serve points won, not much separated the two with Haddad Maia winning almost 77% of her first-serve points to Sakkari’s near-75%.
In the semi-final, Haddad Maia will take on Tereza Martincova. The Czech posted an upset of her own, against fourth seed Shuai Zhang. Martincova needed 72 minutes to complete a 6-3, 6-2 win against the Chinese.
Nottingham Open: Alison Riske reaps rewards
The 60th-ranked Martincova won 73% of her first-serve points and 64% of her second-serve points. Zhang won 69% of her first-serve points and only 29% of her second-serve points. She saved the only break point she faced during the proceedings while converting four of the six break points she had on Zhang’s serve.
Alison Riske, the sixth seed, took out Harriet Dart, the last remaining Briton in the British event. The American came from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 26 minutes. Riske won almost 67% of her first-serve points to Dart’s 55%. Both players won around 43% of their respective second-serve points. Riske saved five of the eight break points she faced while converting seven of the 16 break points she had on Dart’s serve.
Looking to reach the Nottingham Open final, Riske will play Viktorija Golubic in the semi-finals. The Swiss upset fifth seed Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-2, 7-6(6) in their quarter-final match in an hour and 32 minutes.