Vondrousova enters semifinals Berlin Open

Berlin: Marketa Vondrusova breezed past Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the WTA tournament in Berlin in a repeat of their 2023 Wimbledon final which the Czech won.

Both players have been beset by injuries and have plummeted in the rankings since being in the top 10 last year.

The 164th-ranked Vondrusova, who underwent a left shoulder operation last summer, will play against Belarus’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s semifinals who beat 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan  7-6, 3-6, 7-6. It will be Vondrousova’s first last-four appearance since Stuttgart in April 2024.

“We’ve played many times, so I think we know each other,” said Vondrousova. “We have similar slices and drop shots -- I think it was a great match today.”

In the other half of the draw China’s Wang Xinyu -- conqueror of French Open champion Coco Gauff on Thursday -- reached the semifinals after Spanish opponent Paula Badosa retired having lost 6-1 in the first set.

Wang will play either last weekend’s Queen’s finalist Amanda Anisimova of the United States or Liudmila Samsonova, who has already beaten defending champion Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka this week. Agencies

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