DANIELLE Collins has fought through a couple of tight tiebreakers to be one of three seeds through to the semi-finals at the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose. Collins overcame a plucky Elena Rybakina, with the seventh seed American toppling the second seed Kazakh 7-6 7-6. The first tiebreaker went 7-5, and the second one went 7-4, with Rybakina having chances in both sets to close them out, but not being able to take them and instead bowing out in straight sets, in an hour and 55 minutes.

Collins was joined in the semis by top seed Elise Mertens, with the Belgian knocking out the other remaining Kazakh, Yulia Putintseva in the same match length of one hour and 55 minutes. Mertens won 6-3 7-6, with the second set tiebreaker going all the way to 10-8 before she was able to emerge victorious and move through to the final four. There, she will take on fourth seed Russian, Daria Kasatkina.

“I just tried to look at it point by point, as it was very important to get a good tactical game against her,” Mertens said post-match. “Also to get the first strike, to get her on the run. I think that’s what I did.

“I tried to not make as many mistakes as [in the second round] yesterday, but find the balance of it better than yesterday, to play more aggressively and get more into the court.”

Kasatkina had the toughest encounter of the day, overcoming plucky Pole Magda Linette in three sets, 6-4 3-6 6-4 to book her spot in the final four. In the other quarter final, Croatian Ana Konjuh continued her red-hot form this year with a blistering last two sets against China’s Zhang Shuai to post a three-set come-from-behind win over her opponent, 3-6 6-2 6-0 and set up a huge semi-final with Collins.

“Every single set was a different story,” Kasatkina said post-match. “I had many chances in the second set, I was many times up in the games, but at the end I was not able to close the games, and Magda was the one who was able to.

“In the third set I was down 1-3, and I would just keep fighting, and trying to find any opportunities to come back in the games and the match. It was very tight moments at the end of the third set, and I’m happy that I was better in these moments.”

Meanwhile over in Romania, the quarter finals were one game away from being completed before rain suspended play in the last match of the day. Second seed German Andrea Petkovic was on the verge of ending Australian Sione Mendez‘s terrific debut run on the WTA Tour, leading 5-1 in the third set after dropping the first set in a tight tiebreaker, then bouncing back to level the scores with a second set victory.

Providing Petkovic does finish off Mendez tomorrow, the German will be the sole seed remaining in the draw, with the only other seeded player – Slovakia’s sixth seed Kristina Kucova – bundled out in straight sets. Egypt’s Maya Sherif toppled her 6-3 6-1 in just 67 minutes in a dominant performance to advance through to the final four. Sherif will now take on Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu who knocked off Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova in a tighter three-set contest, 7-5 6-3.

Meanwhile waiting for Petkovic in the other semi-final is Serbian Aleksandra Krunic who destroyed Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0 in a second set rout. It was a forgettable day for the two Slovakian competitors who won a combined seven games in four sets to fall at the quarter finals stage.

SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Elise Mertens (BEL) defeated [8] Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-3 7-6
[7] Danielle Collins (USA) defeated [2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 7-6 7-6
[4] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) defeated Magda Linette (POL) 6-4 3-6 6-4
Ana Konjuh (CRO) defeated Zhang Shuai (CHN) 3-6 6-2 6-0

WINNERS OPEN QUARTER FNALS RESULTS:

[2] Andrea Petkovic (GER) leads Sione Mendez (AUS) 6-7 6-4 5-1 SUS
Maya Sherif (EGY) defeated [6] Kristina Kucova (SVK) 6-3 6-1
Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU) defeated Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 7-5 6-3
Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) defeated Anna Karolina Schiedlova (SVK) 6-3 6-0

Picture credit: Larry Hinh/Silicon Valley Classic