FILE PHOTO: Tennis – WTA International – Nature Valley Open – Nottingham Tennis Centre, Nottingham – June 12, 2019 Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova in action during her first round match against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Eighth-seeded Swiss Jil Teichmann won all seven completed games before the Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam retired due to a right adductor injury on Friday at the Palermo Ladies Open in Italy.
Teichmann, ranked No. 82 in the world, was leading 6-0, 1-0 when Friedsam pulled the plug on their match and will next face Russian lucky loser Liudmilla Samsonova, who beat last week’s Ladies Open Lausanne champion Fiona Ferro of France, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals.
Also advancing was Spain’s Paula Badosa, who booked a spot in her first WTA semifinal with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Netherland’s Arantxa Rus. The 21-year-old Badosa will face top-seeded Dutch Kiki Bertens, who posted a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Baltic Open
Top-seeded Anastasija Sevastova continued her success on home soil Friday, defeating Irina Bara of Romania, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to reach the semifinals in Jurmala, Latvia, at the WTA’s first-ever event held in the Eastern European country.
The No. 11-ranked Sevastova will next face 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova of Russia in the semifinals. The sixth-seeded Potapova beat Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig, 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
American Bernarda Pera earned her spot in the semifinals with a three-set win over Serbia’s Nina Stojanovic. Pera, ranked No. 74, dropped the first set before rallying back to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. She will square off against Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa, ranked No. 194, who cruised past Chloe Paquet of France 6-2, 6-2.
—Field Level Media
