ONLY four matches took place on Day 6 of the Shenzhen Open with all eyes turning to the contest between fourth and fifth seeds Wang Qiang and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Three out of the four matches went to three sets highlighting the extreme intensity and closeness of the competition heading into the pointy end of the Open.

Garbine Muguruza put another impressive win on the boards after defeating Kazakh, Zarina Diyas on her way to the semi-finals. Diyas put in a solid effort in the second set but it was not enough after lacklustre first and third sets, going down 4-6 6-2 4-6. Diyas dictated the tone in the second with Spanish star Muguruza only winning two games in the second set, but once the Spaniard upped the ante in the third Diyas was left behind.

Next up pit fourth and fifth seeds against one another, with China’s Qiang and Russia’s Alexandrova going head to head. Qiang got on top early winning the first in convincing fashion but Alexandrova was not about to bow out, pulling out some of her best work to win the next two sets and progress through to the next stage with a 6-3 4-6 3-6 victory.

The contest between Elena Rybakina and Elise Mertens lived up to the hype with the two trading blows throughout the match to gain ascendancy and make the leap into the semifinals. In the end the lower ranked Rybakina took out the match, winning the first and third, and while Mertens had a glimmer of hope in the second her chances were quickly quashed, going down 6-4 4-6 6-2. The only other match to take place on Day 6 was the battle between Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko and Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova. It was a dominant performance by Pliskova who got the job done in straight sets winning 4-6 4-6. Pliskova came out with a point to prove, capitalising on every opportunity that came her way and will be seeking to bring that hot form into the semi-finals.