Kontaveit takes down Bencic, to face Ostapenko in semifinal

Anett Kontaveit defeated Belinda Bencic and secured a spot in the St. Petersburg semifinal where Jelena Ostapenko awaits after defeating Sasnovich.

Jelena Ostapenko played against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the quarterfinal and the Latvian player had a really hard time against the Belarussian. Nonetheless, she was able to pull out a win and secure the semifinal spot where she will face Kontaveit. Ostapenko won a very close first set after proving better in the tiebreak 7-5.

Her level dipped in the 2nd set with Sasnovich taking it 6-4 but Ostapenko found her rhythm once more late in the match to pull out a 6-3 final set win and advance to the final. In that semifinal, she will face Kontaveit who also had a tricky task against Belinda Bencic. The Estonian player opened the match better taking an early 2-0 lead but Bencic would battle back.

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The Swiss player even took the lead for a brief time but Kontaveit was able to avoid losing the opening set. It was settled in a very intense tiebreak where Kontaveit proved only slightly better edging out Bencic with 9-7. In the 2nd set, Bencic dropped off a cliff as Kontaveit continued applying the pressure and keeping up the good play.

She jumped out to a 4-0 lead and from there cruised to a stress-free finish securing the semifinal berth. Kontaveit won the last event she played in Russia and is looking like a dangerous threat to do so again.