By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, September 19, 2019
Wild card Samantha Stosur stormed into her first WTA semifinal since 2018, while Sofia Kenin reached her sixth semifinal of the season in Guangzhou.
Photo credit: Guangzhou Open
Wild card Samantha Stosur surged into her first semifinal in 15 months, while Sofia Kenin charged into her sixth semifinal of the season in Guangzhou.
Former US Open champion Stosur saved three set points subduing Nina Stojanovic, 6-2, 7-6(1), to reach her first Tour-level semifinal since Mallorca in June of 2018.
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Serving at 5-6, Stosur dug in denying three set points to force the tie breaker. The 35-year-old Aussie raced out to a 4-0 lead in the breaker and never looked back.
The 129th-ranked Stosur will play Viktorija Golubic for a spot in the final.
Golubic defeated home favorite Zhang Shuai, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, avenging her straight-sets US Open first-round loss last month.
The 73rd-ranked Golubic is into her first semifinal since March when she beat Jennifer Brady to win the Indian Wells 125K title.
Facing a 1-4 deficit in today's final quarterfinal, Kenin answered emphatically. The 20-year-old American ran off 10 of the next 11 games dismissing Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini, 7-5, 6-1.
The third-seeded Kenin broke serve five times setting up a semifinal vs. Anna Blinkova, a 6-3, 6-1 victor over Marie Bouzkova.