WTA Adelaide International: Day 4 – Barty, Yastremska proceed to semi finals
DAY 4 of the Adelaide International saw four matches play out in the quarter finals, with Ash Barty, Danielle Collins, Aryna Sabalenka and Dayana Yastremska to proceed to the semis. All four victors ran away with straight sets wins, putting on a solid effort in the first to run away with victory in the second.
World number one, Barty, pulled off a cracking win over eighth seed Marketa Vondrousova, collecting a 6-3 6-3 straight sets win in the longest match of the day, though still only 81 minutes. While fairly well matched in the stats department, Barty used her serve well and was clinical at break points, saving six of seven to retain the lead. Czech left hander, Vondrousova was outclassed by the Aussie, who will now take on Collins in the semi final.
Collins’ matchup went in a similar fashion, defeating fourth seed Belinda Bencic who has impressed throughout but was ultimately unable to compete with the American who came in with a fire in the belly, winning 3-6 1-6. Both impressed on the serve with five and four aces respectively, but it was Collins’ 90.5 per cent winning rate on her first serve that pushed her ahead of the Swiss product.
Second seed Romanian, Simona Halep was blown out of the water by sixth seed Sabalenka, with the 21-year-old Belarusian tested in the first set before all but dominating the second, 6-4 6-2. Sabalenka racked up five aces to Halep’s nil, and forced two double faults from the two-time Grand Slam winner.
The only non-seeded match of the lot pit Yastremska against Donna Vekic, with the Ukrainian reigning supreme despite some strong competition in the first set. Yastremska collected seven aces on her road to 4-6 3-6 victory, making it a tough slog for Vekic who ranked higher on the WTA leaderboard (20, Yastremska 24). 19-year-old Yastremska will have the tough job of taking on Sabalenka in the next round in what will be her second semi finals appearance.
Day 4 Results:
[1] Ash Barty (AUS) defeated [8] Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) 6-3 6-3
[6] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) defeated [2] Simona Halep (ROU) 6-4 6-2
Danielle Collins (USA) defeated [4] Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-3 6-1
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) defeated Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-4 6-3
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