|
"I was testing my body on the warmup and I
felt, 'OK, I'm probably going to go on the court and play,'" she
told reporters of the injury she suffered in her most recent
match against Elina Svitolina. "And I'm super happy I was able
to play without pain today. Hopefully, with every day I will
feel better and better.
"I would definitely say that was the best performance of the
tournament."
Sabalenka, from Belarus, controlled the match. She won 81
percent of her first serves, didn't face a break point and
converted three of her seven break chances. Sabalenka had 12
winners and 11 unforced errors; Ostapenko had 18 of each.
Latvia's Ostapenko, the ninth seed, was seeking her second
consecutive semifinals berth in Rome. She now is 7-4 in the
quarterfinals of WTA 1000 events.
Ostapenko won the opening game of the match, but Sabalenka
rattled off five straight victories breaking Ostapenko twice in
deuce games in the stretch.
Sabalenka also broke her opponent's serve in the seventh game of
the second set to go up 4-3 en route to the win.
In the semifinals, Sabalenka will face No. 13 seed Danielle
Collins, who defeated No. 24 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-4,
6-3 on Wednesday.
Sabalenka beat Collins in three sets in the fourth round at the
Mutua Madrid Open on April 29.
It was a rare defeat for Collins on the season, who has won 19
of her past 20 matches, earning titles at the Miami Open and the
Charleston Open. Earlier this year, Collins announced this would
be her final season on tour.
The other semifinal will pit top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland
against third-seeded Coco Gauff on Thursday. Collins and Gauff
will be the first two American women to compete in the semifinal
round in Rome since 2016, when Serena Williams and Madison Keys
accomplished the feat.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely
responsible for this content. |
|
