SHANGHAI, China: World number seven Ons Jabeur defied a bad knee on Thursday to finally defeat Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) and reach the quarter-finals of the Zhengzhou Open.
Playing with her right knee taped, the Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist failed to serve out the victory on three occasions and needed five match points to move past the 63rd-ranked Italian in just under two hours.
A champion in Ningbo two weeks ago, Jabeur will next face eighth seed Daria Kasatkina, who beat home player Bai Zhuoxuan 6-2, 6-4.
“It was a tough finish obviously, she’s a great player, such a fighter,” said the 29-year-old Jabeur.
“So, I’m glad that I got to finish in two (sets). It would have been a different story if it was three sets. We will learn a lot from this match.
“I tried to do my best, it’s the end of the season and it’s very, very tough with the knee. Today it wasn’t 100 percent.”
A seesaw opening set saw a combined five breaks of serve but it was Jabeur who carved out a 5-2 gap and the Tunisian took a one-set lead after 45 minutes.
The fourth seed earned a double-break lead in the second set and looked on track for a smooth victory when she served for the match at 5-2.
But Bronzetti had other ideas and snatched the next three games, breaking Jabeur twice to level the frame for five-all, saving a match point along the way.
Jabeur stopped the bleeding as she used her signature drop shot to maximum effect to break Bronzetti and put herself in position to serve for the win for a third time.
Still the North African could not close as Bronzetti saved three more match points and broke serve on a Jabeur double fault to take the set into a tiebreak.
Jabeur finally closed out the 74-minute second set, and the contest, on her fifth match point.
Kasatkina also had to overcome a second-set fightback from her opponent and needed four match points before she completed a 90-minute victory over 117th-ranked Bai.
The 26-year-old Russian has lost her last five matches to Jabeur.
“Ons is an amazing player, she’s creative on the court and you never know what to expect from her,” said Kasatkina.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund upset 11th seed and recent Beijing runner-up Liudmila Samsonova 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to book a quarter-final against Italian Jasmine Paolini.
Jabeur rides roller coaster on way to Zhengzhou last eight
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Jabeur rides roller coaster on way to Zhengzhou last eight
- A champion in Ningbo two weeks ago, Jabeur will next face eighth seed Daria Kasatkina
- “It was a tough finish obviously, she’s a great player, such a fighter,” said the 29-year-old Jabeur
Sabalenka returns to Brisbane final, faces Kostyuk for title
- In Sunday’s title clash, the Belarusian will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk
- World number one Sabalenka has been in similarly superb form in her first tournament of the season
BRISBANE: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka outclassed Karolina Muchova to seal a 6-3 6-4 win at the Brisbane International on Saturday and reach the final of the Australian Open tune-up tournament for the third straight year.
In Sunday’s title clash, the Belarusian will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who cruised past world number six Jessica Pegula 6-0 6-3 for her third straight top-10 win after also defeating Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva in her last two rounds.
World number one Sabalenka has been in similarly superb form in her first tournament of the season, and arrived for her match against Muchova having defeated reigning Melbourne Park champion Madison Keys in straight sets in the quarter-finals.
Things were expected to be trickier against Muchova, who is known for her inventive brand of tennis and had racked up a 3-1 career head-to-head record over Sabalenka, including victories in their previous three meetings.
Sabalenka shrugged off that statistic to take full control of the semifinal clash with a break in the second game, before she displayed deft touches and power from the baseline to take the first set, which she finished with a huge backhand winner.
The four-times Grand Slam champion, who is eyeing her third Australian Open trophy when the tournament begins on January 18 at Melbourne Park, was pushed harder in the next set but edged ahead again at 5-4 to wrap up the win on serve.
“There were a lot of close misses at the end of the second set but I’m super happy to close this match in straight sets,” said Sabalenka, who prevailed on her fourth match point.
“She’s a great opponent and I knew that if I gave her that opportunity in the last games, she would take it, and it would be a bit trickier to play. I’m super happy I got the win.”
Three Americans were in action in the Brisbane men’s event semifinals, where Brandon Nakashima beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6(4) 6-4 before their compatriot Alex Michelsen went down 6-4 6-2 to top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
In the Auckland Classic, Filipino Alexandra Eala squandered a match point to allow China’s Wang Xinyu to secure a 5-7 7-5 6-4 win. Up next for Wang is Elina Svitolina, who beat Iva Jovic 7-6(5) 6-2 in the second semifinal.
Top seed Lorenzo Musetti reached the final of the Hong Kong Open, beating Andrey Rublev 6-7(3) 7-5 6-4 in a last-four clash. Alexander Bublik beat Marcos Giron 3-6 6-4 6-2 in the second semifinal, setting up a title clash with Musetti.
