ADELAIDE: Second seeded Belinda Bencic saw off Australian Storm Sanders to set up a semi-final against 16-year-old American Coco Gauff at the Adelaide International on Thursday.

Bencic reached her first semi-final since the WTA Finals in November 2019 when she defeated the tricky left-handed Australian 6-2, 6-4.

Despite winning in straight sets, Sanders pushed the Swiss world number 12 all the way, Bencic eventually winning in one and a half hours.

Gauff came from a set down to beat countrywoman Shelby Rogers 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Rogers raced through the first set before Gauff came back to level the match. Rogers then opened a 4-2 lead in the deciding set, however, Gauff again came back, winning the next four games to close out the quarter-final.

The second semi-final features Poland’s reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek against Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann.

Swiatek advanced when American opponent Danielle Collins retired with an undisclosed injury while trailing 6-3, 3-0. Collins, who beat top-ranked Ash Barty on Wednesday in the second round, appeared to wince in pain during her service action in the final point before retiring.

In contrast, Teichmann claimed her spot in the semi-finals after a marathon 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 7-5 win over Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova. Teichmann had five match points in the second-set tiebreaker against Sevastova but was unable to close it out. The 23-year-old Swiss player was then forced to save two match points while trailing 5-4 in the third.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2021