Pliskova Doubles Up to Reach Zhengzhou Semi-finals

Beijing, Sept 13 (AFP) World number two Karolina Pliskova will play unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic in the semi-finals of the WTA Zhengzhou Open in China after winning two matches on the bounce on Friday.

Bad weather forced organisers to squeeze in second-round and quarter-final matches, meaning a tight turnaround for the top seed and her rivals.

But the Czech was unperturbed, first defeating Polona Hercog 6-3, 7-5, then beating Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

"To play two matches in a day is never easy, but in the first one I was lucky enough to not go to a third set, just finished quickly and saved some power for the next one," Pliskova, 27, said.

"I think I played good tennis in both matches. I was serving well today, a lot of aces, which always helps, and there's a lot of positive things for tomorrow."

Also into the last four in central China is Petra Martic from Croatia after she battled past Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Martic will play unseeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic or the recent US Open semi-finalist Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)