[4] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) vs. [37] Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
FIRST MATCH: Their head-to-head was tied 1:1, so this match could have ended with either claiming the victory. Despite being the lower ranked player, I gave the slight advantage to Barty; she has been utilizing her all-court game effectively all tournament and was more confident. Barty did it the hard way though, after failing to serve out the third set she had to win the match by winning two tiebreak sets, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). Barty moves on to her third semifinal of the season and in the process, she denied Pliskova a chance of regaining the number one ranking.
[20] Carolina Garcia (FRA) vs. [35] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
SECOND MATCH: Makarova led their head-to-head 2:0; however, that statistic was a tad misleading. The last time they played was three years ago and Garcia is a much improved player since then. Garcia got off to a tentative start, perhaps the memory of never defeating her opponent was on her mind and she was broken in her second service game; however, she was ready for the challenge and fought back to win 7-6(3), 6-4.
[42] Alize Cornet (FRA) vs. [80] Maria Sakkari (GRE)
THIRD MATCH: They were familiar foes having played once earlier this season at the Australian Open; thus, the result was still relatively fresh in their memory. Sakkari was victorious in three sets and knew that she had another battle ahead today. Sakkari served for the first set and Cornet fought off six set points to break back and force a tiebreak. In the end it was all to no avail as Sakkari displayed some fine retrieval skills of her own to win 7-6(2), 7-5.
[1] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs. [10] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
FOURTH MATCH: Muguruza led their head-to-head 2:0; yet, that was before Ostapenko became the 2017 French Open Champion. She is learning fast and growing in confidence even faster. Ostapenko is no stranger to adversity on the court, she had to battle back from losing the first set and won 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
SOURCE OF IMAGE: Bing search (Prokeraia.com)
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