2020 WTA Strasbourg and Rabat Opens fantasy tennis: Semi-finals produce spectacular wins
A MASSIVE day of semi-final action at both the Strasbourg and Rabat Open fantasy tournaments saw some quality matchups, though only one match went down to the wire.
Strasbourg saw two huge clashes with young talent once again continuing to flourish, seeing 20-year-old Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska and 19-year-old Pole, Iga Swiatek heading into the final. Yastremska had the toughest match of the lot, only just winning the first set despite her impressive start, with Victoria Azarenka proving experience can win back games, using her momentum to take the Ukrainian to a first set tiebreaker. Whilst seventh seed Yastremska took out the tiebreaker, Azarenka won back the second set with relative ease to almost steal the show from the young talent. But Yastremska took back control from the Belarusian, working her way back into the match to win 7-6 2-6 6-4. Swiatek had a similar first set against third seed Aryna Sabalenka but was far too strong for the fellow Belarusian, running away with the stellar 7-6 6-2 victory.
At Rabat, Maria Sakkari blew first seed Brit Johanna Konta out of the water as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova proved her experience to take out qualifier Jil Teichmann in straight sets. A sloppy first set was Konta’s downfall, with the usually threatening player unable to ply her trade against the Greek talent. While the Brit had a much better second set, leading early, Sakkari still had much of the momentum and used every ounce of it to end it there and then at 6-1 6-4 to ensure Konta did not take her to a third set. For Teichmann it was a far different story, putting out a solid first set against the Russian talent before fading away as Pavlyuchenkova plied her trade to win 6-4 6-2.
The battle between Yastremska and Swiatek will be an interesting one with both players in impressive form as of late, and while Swiatek is the underdog coming into the final she is well within her chances against the seventh seed reigning champion. At Rabat, expect a high quality match between Sakkari and Pavlyuchenkova, with both seeded within the top 10 and sure to put on a show.
STRASBOURG OPEN SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:
[7] Dayana Yastremska (UKR) defeated Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 7-6 2-6 6-4
Iga Swiatek (POL) defeated [3] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 7-6 6-2
RABAT GRAND PRIX SEMI-FINALS RESULT:
[5] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated [1] Johanna Konta (GBR) 6-1 6-4
[8] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) defeated [Q] Jil Teichmann (SUI) 6-4 6-2
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