Giorgi ousts Sabalenka to set up Kontaveit semis, Ostapenko sails

Qualifier Camila Giorgi took out the last remaining seed in the Eastbourne International at the quarter-final stage, overcoming No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes.

A big-hitting battle saw several wild scoreboard fluctuations, but it was the Italian who came from a break down to take both the first and third sets, recovering from a 25-minute whitewash in between. The result moves Giorgi into her first semi-final since Palermo 2020, and first at 500 level since Tokyo 2018, according to WTA.

Giorgi will next face Anett Kontaveit, who came back from the brink of defeat against qualifier Viktorija Golubic for the second time in a month. The Estonian won 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 despite Golubic serving for the match at 6-5 in the second set. Kontaveit had also saved a match point en route to beating Golubic 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-0 in the first round of Roland Garros, and now owns a dominant 6-0 lead in their head-to-head.

Ostapenko downs Kasatkina: Jelena Ostapenko attained a season-best performance as the Latvian overcame Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the semifinals.

With her one-hour and 46-minute victory, 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko finds herself into her first tour-level semifinal since her title-winning run in Luxembourg at the very tail end of 2019. World No.43 Ostapenko has now bested her previous best Eastbourne result, which was a quarter-final showing in 2018.

Ostapenko followed up that run with a trip to the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals the very next week.

“I get very excited, but when it starts I get very sad because it’s very short, the grass season,” said Ostapenko, who also won the junior Wimbledon singles title in 2014. “I wish it could be longer, because I love to play on grass.”

Medvedev enters Mallorca semis: World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev defeated Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-1 to enter semi-finals of Mallorca Championships on Thursday.

The Russian, who had lost in first round of the Halle Open, has been in dominant form and has moved into the last-four stage without dropping a set.

“I feel like it was a funny match. Maybe [it was] not the highest level, but I’m really happy to win and be in the semi-finals here. I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” Medvedev said after the match.

The top seed hammered eight aces as against two from Ruud and won 87% of the points on first service as against 73% by his opponent. He also won five of the 10 break-points he got.

Medvedev, who has won all his 10 ATP Tour titles on hard courts, will next clash with third seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain for a place in his first grass-court final.

Carreno Busta saved all the three break-points he faced on way to beating Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-4. Medvedev has won as against one in ATP.

Agencies