After Iga Swiatek qualified without playing for the semi-finals of the Dubai tournament, the Pole was joined in the last four by Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova.
Coco Gauff will be entitled to a sixth chance! Beaten five times out of five by Iga Swiatek since May 2021, the American will again challenge the Pole on Friday in the semi-finals in Dubai. If the world No. 1 did not even need to play, due to the withdrawal of Karolina Pliskova, ill, Cocao Gauff spent 1h20 on the court, enough time to beat her compatriot Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5.
The world No. 6 was particularly effective on break points against the No. 23, converting four out of five. Gauff took the opposing serve at 0-0 and 3-1 in the first set, then at 1-1 in the second. That’s when Keys broke for the first time, to come back at 2-2. But the young American, soon to be 19, managed the break at the best time, at 5-5 on a shutout, to reach the last four.
Krejcikova reverses Sabalenka
End of series for Aryna Sabalenka! Victorious in her last thirteen matches, the winner of the Adelaide tournament and the Australian Open fell this Thursday in the quarterfinals against Barbora Krejcikova, whom she had beaten in their two confrontations. However, nothing would have predicted such a result, when the Belarusian won the first set 6-0, with three breaks and two saves 4-1. On his way, Sabalenka even led 3-1 in the second set. But the former Roland-Garros winner ended up waking up! She broke to come back to 3-3, then easily won the tie-break 7-2.
It was too much for Sabalenka, who completely broke down in the final set, losing 6-1 with two breaks conceded. We will see the Belarusian again in Indian Wells, in a little over two weeks. As for Barbora Krejcikova, she will be opposed in the semi-finals to Jessica Pegula, the world No. 3, who benefited from the package of Karolina Muchova, injured in the abdominals. The American won their only encounter, in the round of 16 in Melbourne last month.