Cirstea advances to semifinals in Lyon, Yastremska upsets Paolini

Second seed Sorana Cirstea cruised through to the semifinals of the Lyon Open on a day full of upsets, as unseeded Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska stunned fifth seed Jasmine Paolini in their quarterfinal encounter.

Cirstea had little difficulty in overcoming Hungarian Anna Bondar, breezing through with a 6-3 6-3 victory. The Romanian has been in spectacular form this week, and is yet to drop a set during the tournament.

Awaiting Cirstea in the semifinals is the unseeded Yastremska, who has been playing well despite the conflict going on in her homeland of Ukraine. The World No.128 upset fifth-seeded Italian Paolini, pulling off an emotional 6-4 7-6(3) win in front of a largely supportive crowd.

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France's Caroline Garcia recorded another upset on Friday, as she defeated seventh seed Alison Van Uytvanck in their quarterfinal clash. The resurgent Garcia outlasted her Belgium opponent, progressing with a 4-6 6-3 7-5 victory after two and a half hours.

Shuai Zhang of China had a much easier time against Vitalia Diatchenko, as the eight seed was granted a walkover victory when her opponent retired after trailing 0-3 in the first set. Zhang will face Garcia in the second semifinal on Saturday.