Iva Jovic on course in Guadalajara Open title defence as Marta Kostyuk ousted in near three hour epic

On Thursday, the Quarter-Finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Guadalajara took place. It saw Marta Kostyuk exit the tournament, but Iva Jovic remains in course in her own title defence.

Jovic broke out last year at this tournament winning the title before the 18-year-old ascended further up public consciousness and she has certainly been enjoying her time in Mexico again attending multiple events and receiving adoration as is often the way with Mexican fans who are some of the most passionate on the planet.

But Jovic managed to sail through to the semi-finals where she will aim to reach the final of the Guadalajara Open once again. The American had no trouble reaching the last four winning 6-2, 6-1 against Magdalena Frech.

“Today was a great match for me. I think I played very well, especially on the important points. I faced a lot of break points and was able to save them all. I’m also very happy with the stamina I showed on my service games. I hope I can continue to improve as the tournament progresses,” Jovic said in a press conference.

After seeing off Frech 6-2, 6-1 to qualify for the semi-finals, she spoke about their previous matches too and how the Guadalajara win differed. “They were two very different matches. At the US Open, there were other factors involved; this is tennis, and every match is different. But today I'm happy to have held on in those close games. The score definitely doesn't reflect how tough the match was. I think I did a good job of not letting her get into the match, because if you give her a little bit of momentum, she can start playing even better and begin to win.

Jovic now faces off against Cristina Bucsa who beat Sara Bejlek 6-0, 6-4. “I’ve never played against her, so I don’t really know much about her game. But she’s had a great season, winning a lot of matches, especially here in Mexico. It will definitely be a very tough match."

She is the highest ranked remaining player in the tournament following Marta Kostyuk's defeat. The Ukrainian benefited from Taylor Townsend's last-minute withdrawal to qualify for the Quarter-Finals. She faced a tricky test though in Liudmila Samsonova and was defeated in just over two and a half hours.

“When you face a rival like Marta, considering she’s playing incredibly this year, the best season of her life so far, you have nothing to lose. You can only learn and challenge yourself," said Samsonova post match.

Despite losing the first set 6-4, the Russian eliminated Kostyuk in the final two 6-2, 7-5. She will now meet Peyton Stearns this Friday who beat her fellow American, Sloane Stephens 7-6, 6-4.

“The fact that she won the first set, but I was so close—I think it was decided by two or three points at most—I felt like I was really close. So, when you feel like you're close, it's easier to keep believing. You don't know if you're going to win or not, but you try to stay in it.”

It is a fifth consecutive win for Samsonova against Kostyuk. “I didn’t know it was five wins, to be honest. I’d really forgotten, it was a while ago. They’re always great battles between us. She’s a fighter. She’s one of the best athletes on the circuit; against her, you need to set up the point very patiently. I tried to put pressure on her and be aggressive with my game, but in a way, without rushing, and it worked