FOUR of the top five players at the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, setting up a blockbuster pair of semi-finals. Top seed Ash Barty came from behind to post a three-set win over sixth seed Karolina Pliskova in an impressive 2-6 6-1 7-5 victory, one of three full-length quarter finals matches.

The match lasted two hours and one minute before Barty could book her spot in the final four, serving seven aces to five and winning 30 of 38 points off her first serve, as she punished Pliskova’s second serve (35.9 per cent success rate). Pliskova did break Barty three times from her only chances, but Barty set up a whopping 19 break point chances. She did only break five times in the end, but the pressure was immense.

“In a sense it was probably a match of two sets,” Barty said post-match. “In the first set I wasn’t able to build any pressure. Kaja was getting in and out of her serving games too quickly, and in turn was then having freedom on my service games. But being able to flip that switch right from the first game of the second set was important. To then make it more of a physical match was what we were after, and over time we were able to get the match back on my terms as much as we expected.”

Fourth seed Ukrainian Elina Svitolina also had to come from behind, fighting off two match points from seventh seed Czech Petra Kvitova to win in three sets, 6-7 7-5 6-2 to secure a semi-finals spot. The match lasted two hours and 37 minutes, and Svitolina dropped the first set tiebreaker 7-4, before managing to win eight of the last 10 games of the match to secure the victory.

“A big battle is always very satisfying, and you know that the hard work pays off,” Svitolina said post-match. “It’s always an unbelievable feeling to go through this kind of match.”

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka also had to battle through in three sets, eventually overcoming Estonian Anett Kontaveit, 7-5 4-6 6-1. The Belarusian won in two hours and 28 minutes in another epic struggle, serving seven aces to four, and winning 70.7 per cent of her first serve points off a 60.5 per cent clip. She broke five times from 10 chances against the Estonian, but more impressively saved 15 of 18 break point opportunities for her opponent.

Meanwhile over in Istanbul, top seed Elise Mertens breezed through in straight sets over Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-4, joining third seed Veronika Kudermetova in the final four after the Russian won in a come-from-behind victory over Romanian Ana Bogdan, 2-6 6-3 6-3. Also through to the semi-finals were Romanian Sorana Cirstea and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk. Cirstea defeated Fiona Ferro 6-4 0-0 with the Frenchwoman having to retire after the first set, while Kostyuk went the full distance to win 7-5 4-6 6-3 over Croatian Ana Konjuh.

PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Ash Barty (AUS) defeated [6] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 2-6 6-1 7-5
[2] Simona Halep (ROU) defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) 6-1 6-4
[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR) defeated [7] Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6-7 7-5 6-2
[5] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) defeated Anett Kontaveit (EST) 7-5 4-6 6-1

TEB BNP PARIBAS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP ISTANBUL QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Elise Mertens (BEL) defeated Katerina Siniakova (CZE) 6-4 6-4
[3] Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) defeated Ana Bogdan (ROU) 2-6 6-3 6-3
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) defeated Fiona Ferro (FRA) 6-4 0-0 RET
Marta Kostyuk (UKR) defeated Ana Konjuh (CRO) 7-5 4-6 6-3

Picture credit: Jimmie48/WTA