NO seeds remain at the Eastbourne event this week following a huge quarter final round overnight, with all four matches going the distance in three sets with each of the remaining competitors on the prowl. Meanwhile at Bad Homburg, proceedings were delayed with none of the four quarter finals taking the court for the day, although one result has already been decided following Victoria Azarenka‘s withdrawal from the tournament, seeing Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo proceed to the semis.

Three of the four winners executed come from behind victories, but that was not the case in the big upset of the day, as qualifier Camila Giorgi continued her excellent run on grass to down top seed and world number four Aryna Sabalenka, 7-6(5) 0-6 6-4. The hard-hitting Italian won 66.7 per cent of her first serve points despite piling up 11 double faults for her six aces. Whilst Sabalenka flew through the second set in just 25 minutes and looked like holding onto that momentum heading into the third, breaking even at 4-4, Giorgi fought back to claim the victory with 23 winners for 34 unforced errors throughout to Sabalenka’s 29 and 43.

Giorgi will take on Anett Kontaveit in the semis, after the Estonian claimed a 2-6 7-6(2) 7-5 victory over Swiss talent Viktorija Golubic. The longest clash of the day saw Kontaveit require two hours and 34 minutes on court before she could claim the win, serving up six aces and winning 70 per cent of her overall first serve points throughout. Though Golubic served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, Kontaveit brought her confidence to the party and overcame the deficit to extend to a tiebreaker, which she took out 7-2, and the eventual victory.

The second semi-final will play out between Kazakh Elena Rybakina and wildcard Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, after Ostapenko downed Russian Daria Kasatkina, 1-6 7-5 6-2 in the shortest match of the day, and Rybakina overcame Ostapenko’s compatriot and lucky loser Anastasija Sevastova in two hours and 30 minutes, 2-6 7-6(7) 7-6(5).

Despite falling down the rankings slightly in 2020, Ostapenko’s form sees her enter her first tour-level semi final since 2019 and plenty to prove on grass, with a junior Wimbledon title under her belt in 2014.

“I get very excited, but when it starts I get very sad because it’s very short, the grass season,” Ostapenko said. “I wish it could be longer, because I love to play on grass.”

“I think when I find my game, like in the third set today, and when I play aggressive and I play well, I think it suits my game very well, the grass court.”

“The main thing, probably I was playing more aggressive today and tried to put as much pressure as possible on her,” she said. “In the second set I was fighting very hard to win it. I think in the third set I already found my game and played much better.”

The marathon matchup between Rybakina and Sevastova proved monumental, as the Kazakh world number 21 saved two match points in the second set tiebreaker to head into the third, with powerful service games setting the tone.

“It was not easy at all,” Rybakina said. “She played also well, we were fighting every point, so it was really difficult.”

“I was just focusing point by point, and it worked out.”

VIKING INTERNATIONAL EASTBOURNE QUARTER FINAL RESULTS:

[Q] Camila Giorgi (ITA) defeated [1] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 7-6 0-6 6-4
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) defeated Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 2-6 7-6 7-6
Anett Kontaveit (EST) defeated Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 2-6 7-6 7-5
[WC] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) defeated Daria Kasatkina (RUS) 1-6 7-5 6-2

Picture credit: Jimmie48/WTA