Veronika Kudemertova came back from one set down to beat Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 after 3 hours and 14 minutes at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Kudemertova earned an early break to take a 2-0 lead in the opening set. Haddad Maia won the next five games with two breaks of serve to take a 5-2 lead. Kudemertova broke back in the ninth game to draw level to 5-5. Haddad Maia won five consecutive points from 2-4 down to claim the tie-break 7-4. Kudemertova broke serve in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead in the second set. Haddad Maia broke back in the ninth game to draw level to 5-5.
Kudemertova came within two points of defeat at 6-6 in the tie-break of the second set before she hit a backhand winner on set point.
Kudemertova reeled off the last six games of the match with three breaks to win the third set 6-1 improving her three-set record to 12-5 this year. The Russian player has a win-loss record of 8-7 against top 20 opponents this season.
Kudemertova has reached her fifth WTA 500 semifinal this season. She will take on either Zheng Qinwen, who beat Claire Liu 6-4 7-5. Kudemertova has reached her ninth quarter final of the season. Only Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur have reached more quarter finals than Kudemertova this year.
With her quarter final in Tokyo Kudemertova has risen to world number 9 by reaching the quarter finals in Tokyo.
Kudemertova converted six of the fifteen break points and hit 45 winners, including 11 aces.
Zhang Shuai secured her spot in the semifinal with a 7-5 6-2 win over Petra Martic. Zhang scored her first ever win over Martic, who had won their previous two head-to-head matches on hard-court at the 2015 US Open and at the 2019 Miami Open.
Zhang has reached her third semifinal of the season. The Chinese player clinched the third title of her career in Lyon and advanced to the final in Birmingham. During a successful summer hard-court season she reached two consecutive quarter finals in Cincinnati and Cleveland and the Round of 16 at the US Open.
Zhang earned only two break points in the first set but she converted both of them. The Chinese player won seven games from 5-5 in the first set to build up a 7-5 5-0 lead in the second set before sealing the win on her fifth match point after 1 hour and 22 minutes.
Zhang Shuai has become the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals in Tokyo since Li Na in 2009.
“Last season I had a tough half year. I had an injury because in 2020 I went back to China twice and I had a long quarantine after. When I started to play, I felt shoulder pain, arm pain, everywhere. In the first half of the year I did not win any matches. I did not play well. I took a lot of rest and treatment. Last year’s 15 wins were in the second half of the year, so it looks the same every half-year I have 15 wins. That feeling is good”, said Zhang Shuai.
Zhang Shuai will face Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-2 in the quarter finals. Samsonova won four consecutive games from 4-4 in the first set to build up a 6-4 2-0 lead. Samsonova broke five times and hit 23 winners to Muguruza’s 11.
Samsonova has won 16 of the 17 matches and has reached the semifinals or better at three of her last four tournaments. She won two back-to-back titles in Washington and Cleveland and reached the fourth round at the US Open for the first time at this Grand Slam tournament before losing to Ajla Tomljanovic.
