World number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek extended her Stuttgart winning streak to 10 matches on Friday, with a quarter-final victory straight sets over Emma Raducanu. Meanwhile title contenders Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff suffered shock defeats.
Top seed Swiatek, the 2022 and 2023 champion on German clay, beat former US Open champion Raducanu 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
Tennis player who currently holds the Wimbledon title Marketa Vondrousova beat world number two and three-time runner-up Stuttgart Sabalenka 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
US Open champion Gauff, ranked third in the world, lost 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.
The 22-year-old tennis player needed just over two hours to beat Raducanu, who was playing in his first quarter-final since 2022.
“She started playing at the start a little loose, like she had nothing to lose, and I totally understand that. Sometimes it’s like that,” Swiatek said.
Also read: Gauff Beats Swiatek and is Ready to Meet Muchova in the Cincinnati Final
“But I know I was kind of questioning whether he would be able to maintain the same intensity throughout the match. It’s not about the service game or the return game. I’m just waiting for my chance to turn things around and I’m sure I’ll get it.”
Despite the defeat, there are positive signs that Raducanu is returning to his best.
Two wins for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup win against France last weekend were followed by two wins in Stuttgart, which was the first time she had won four matches in a row since her title win at the 2021 US Open.
Also read: Iga Swiatek advances to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open
The former world number 10 comes into Stuttgart ranked 303. Twelve months ago, Stuttgart proved to be his last event of 2023 before undergoing surgery on both his wrist and ankle.
Swiatek will face fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, for a place in the final.
Vondrousova reached her first semi-final since winning the Wimbledon title last July when she stunned Sabalenka.
Also read: Coco Gauff forced to work hard in the second round of the Stuttgart Open
The sixth-seeded Czech celebrated her first win over Sabalenka in six years after losing four in a row between 2018 and 2023.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka has been trying to make the Stuttgart final for the fourth year in a row.
The powerful Belarusian smashed 35 winners compared to Vondrousova’s 17, but committed 48 unforced errors compared to 19.
Vondrousova crucially converted seven of eight break point opportunities while Sabalenka only converted six of 15 opportunities.
Vondrousova will face Kostyuk for a place in Sunday’s final after the 27th-ranked Ukrainian avenged her Australian Open quarter-final loss to Gauff.
The 21-year-old Kostyuk needed more than three hours to beat Laura Siegemund in the first round before saving five match points to beat Zheng Qinwen in the last 16.
On Friday, he rallied from 4-2 in the second set and trailed 3-1 in the third.
Kostyuk took a landslide 6/2 win in the tie-break while Gauff saved a total of nine match points.
The Ukrainian carved out 21 break point opportunities and shot 35 winners compared to Gauff’s 21. (AFP/Z-3)
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