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After being broken in the first game of the
match, Kvitova won the next eight points to a take a lead she
would never relinquish en route to her second victory over a
Czech opponent this tournament.
The world's 10th ranked player, Kvitova will next meet
sixth-seeded Shuai Zhang of China, who knocked off Italian lucky
loser Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
The other semifinal will feature seventh-seeded Romanian Mihaela
Buzarnescu and Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi, who each
advanced by a 6-2, 6-3 margin in matches that lasted an hour and
23 minutes. Buzarnescu defeated Czech qualifier Kristyna
Pliskova, and Giorgi dispatched Australian qualifier Samantha
Stosur.
Grand Prix S.A.R. La Princesse Lalla Meryem
Top-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium cruised into the semifinals
with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Sara Errani in Rabat, Morocco.
The world's 19th-ranked player, Mertens broke Errani in seven of
the Italian's eight service games, only failing to do so in a
20-point marathon of a game to start the second set. Mertens
claimed nearly 60 percent of the total points in the match,
which lasted an hour and 25 minutes.
Her opponent in the semifinals will be eighth-seeded Su-Wei
Hsieh of Taiwan, who dispatched Ukraine's Katarina Zavatska 6-1,
6-1 in a shade over an hour while winning 65 percent of the
total points and breaking Zavatska's serve six times.
Seventh-seeded Serbian Aleksandra Krunic also advanced to the
semifinals after her opponent, Spain's Paula Badosa Gibert,
retired while trailing 6-2, 1-0. Krunic will face Australia's
Ajla Tomljanovic, who rallied to defeat Croatia's Jana Fett 3-6,
6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 13 minutes.
--Field Level Media
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