Sorana Cirstea booked a spot in the semi-finals of the Istanbul Open on Friday. Cirstea, who’s trying to retain her title this year, beat Austrian qualifier, Julia Grabher 7-5, 6-1 in an hour and 18 minutes in their quarter-final.
Both players struggled to win points off their second serves – Cirstea won 37% of her second-serve points to Grabher winning 25%. However, the Romanian won 64% of her first-serve points to the latter’s 51%. Cirstea lost her serve thrice across the match but also converted all six break-point chances that she had on Grabher’s serve.
Looking to extend her run in Turkey, Cirstea will play the only other seed left in the draw, the third seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Kudermetova came through her quarter-final match-up against Anna Bondar, 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in two hours and 14 minutes.
Istanbul Open: Yulia Putintseva, Anastasia Potapova’s contrasting wins
Both players conceded their serve four times in the match. Of the two players, it was Bondar who won more first-serve points – 68% to her opponent’s 61%. However, it was Kudermetova who did well when it came to winning second-serve points, finishing with 58% to the Hungarian’s 40%. For the match, merely three points separated the two players with Kudermetova finishing with 91 points to Bondar’s 88.
In the top half of the draw, Yulia Putintseva will take on Anastasia Potapova in the semi-final after both of them scored an upset in their respective quarter-final.
The Kazakh came from a set down to oust the sixth seed Ajla Tomljanovic, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in a match that was nine minutes shy of the three-hour-mark. The opening set saw both players exchange breaks twice before the Australian converted a third break to go up a set. However, in the latter two sets, Putintseva saved all five break points she faced while ensuring a victory for herself in the process.
The last quarter-final at the Istanbul Open saw Potapova defeat the seventh-seeded Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and 18 minutes. Potapova saved two of the three break points she faced while converting all five chances that came her way on the Spaniard’s serve.
Photo Credit: Istanbul Open Twitter