By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday September 17, 2021
Danish teen Clara Tauson continues to make a strong impression on the WTA Tour in 2021.
Photo Source: Getty
The semifinals are set in Luxembourg, and once again it is 18-year-old Clara Tauson of Denmark who is angling for a title.
Tauson, playing at a career-high ranking of 70, eased past Marie Bouzkova, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday in 91 minutes, and will face Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the No.5 seed, in the last four.
"I think I played a very solid match and I didn't let her have a chance today," Tauson said. "I'm very pleased about that one, and very happy about the win."
The Dane has had a very solid 2021 campaign that features a Top-100 debut, a maiden title at Lyon, and a recent 125K title at Chicago, just prior to the US Open.
Tauson won a round at Roland Garros and the US Open this year, but hasn’t exactly been lucky with draws at the Slams. She bowed out to No.16-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the second round in Paris, fell to Barbora Krejcikova in the first round at Wimbledon, and was toppled by Ashleigh Barty in the second round at the US Open.
Vondrousova, the Olympic silver medalist, defeated Elise Mertens, 7-5, 6-2 in Friday’s last semifinal, rallying from 5-3 down in the first set to take 10 of the final 12 games.
Top-seeded Belinda Bencic, the Olympic gold medalist, was defeated by rising Russian Liudmila Samsonova, 6-1, 6-4. Samsonova, 22 years of age and ranked at a career-high 48, will face Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in semifinal action on Saturday at Luxembourg.