By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, July 28, 2017
Caroline Garcia and Caroline Wozniacki moved closer toward a potential Bastad final showdown with quarterfinal victories.
Photo credit: Swedish Open Tennis Facebook/Ericsson Open
The Bastad semifinals will feature a pair of competitive Carolines.
Caroline Garcia pumped 10 aces dispatching Barbora Krejcikova, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, and advancing to her fourth semifinal of the season.
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"I started well but after it got complicated," Garcia said. "She changed a little bit her game and I couldn’t find my rhythm again. So I just kept fighting and fighting again until the end.
"My game is to play aggressive so I tried to be as aggressive as I could. It was not always great, but I’m very happy with the win.”
The third-seeded Frenchwoman will face seventh-seeded Katerina Siniakova for a place in the final.
Siniakova stopped second-seeded Anastasija Sevastova, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
The 56th-ranked Siniakova is aiming for her second title of the season. She defeated Simona Halep, Johanna Konta and Alison Riske en route to the Shenzhen crown earlier this year.
Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki surged into her fifth semifinal of the season with a 6-3, 6-1, sweep of 127th-ranked Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova on the red clay of Bastad.
“Generally, I think I served and returned pretty well,” Wozniacki said. “I stayed aggressive. I came to the net a few times. I did some drop shots. I was pretty pleased.”
The former world No. 1, who owns a 4-0 record in semifinals this season, is playing for her first title since she defeated Kristina Mladenovic to win her 25th career championship in Hong Kong last October.
Wozniacki raised her record to 62-17 since the start of the 2016 US Open.
“It’s getting better,” Wozniacki said. “I’m playing well today. It was a good win. A good match for me.
“I feel like I’m playing well and it’s just about staying focused. It’s not about improving at this point it’s about keeping steady and keeping what I need to do.”
Eight years ago, Wozniacki defeated Petra Kvitova, Maria Kirilenko and Flavia Pennetta in succession to reach the Bastad final where she fell to María José Martínez Sánchez in the final.
The sixth-ranked Dane will play either Elise Mertens or Aleksandra Krunic for a spot in Sunday’s final.
“I’m excited for it,” Wozniacki said. “I’m just going to go out and have fun and enjoy it.”