Top seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced to her first Miami Open semifinal with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Zheng Qinwen, surviving a tense second set, and will face Jasmine Paolini for a final berth.
MIAMI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus secured her spot in the Miami Open semifinals for the first time in career, defeating China's ninth-seeded Zheng Qinwen in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Sabalenka cruised through the opening set, breaking Zheng twice to take it 6-2.
However, the second set turned into a tense battle, with both players struggling on serve. The duo exchanged six consecutive breaks before Sabalenka managed to hold in a marathon eighth game, fending off three break points. Zheng responded with a hold of her own to edge ahead 5-4, but Sabalenka found her rhythm again, winning three straight games to seal the set 7-5.
The victory extended Sabalenka's dominant head-to-head record against Zheng to 6-0.
"Honestly, every match against her is a tough one," Sabalenka said in her post-match interview. "I always have to work really hard to get the win, and today was an incredible match and great level from both of us. I'm super happy to get this win."
Reflecting on the tense second set, the Belarusian admitted to the challenges both players faced on serve. "Definitely the way I handled the pressure in the second set, serve didn't work for both of us. I'm super proud of myself for the way I handled all the emotions."
Sabalenka will next face sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy for a place in the final.
Also on Tuesday, China's Zhang Shuai and Elise Mertens of Belgium suffered a 4-6, 7-5, 10-8 defeat by Japan's Miyu Kato and Cristina Bucsa of Spain in the women's doubles quarterfinals. ■