Friday's quarterfinals of WTA 250 Rothesay Open in Birmingham delivered some interesting battles, as 3 out of 4 matches got settled in three sets. Two top seeds are stil on their way to the final, but both have secured their semifinals spots in much different way.
Ostapenko comes back from nowhere
Jelena Ostapenko was a pre-match favorite against Magdalena Frech, but the Pole was definitely not to write off there, as she approached her second consecutive quarterfinal during a grass swing in UK. Frech has took up a fight in the opening set and surprisingly clinched it, after gaining a decisive break in 9th game and converting 3rd setpoint during own service game for the score 6-4. The Pole has followed the blow and quickly moved up into 4-0 lead in second set. Barely anyone could expect a comeback of Ostapenko, who was playing erratically up to this point. Especially, that Frech had chances to extend her lead into 5-0 with triple break, but the Pole has not converted any of 2 breakpoints in 5th game of this set.
The 6th game could indicate that the hold performed by Ostapenko has just delayed the final settlement, as Frech was leading 40-0 and had a great chance to move into 5-1 lead with securing the double break advantage. It has not happened though, as the comeback of Ostapenko started right there. The Latvian has broke her opponent for the first time this afternoon and quickly leveled the score in the matter of a few minutes. Frech could regain her lead while having another two breakpoints in 9th game, but Ostapenko performed another crucial hold and broke Frech again in the decisive moments of second set. The decider started from confident holds from both players, but Frech has looked really passive in the decisive phases, as Ostapenko raised up the pace again since the score 2-2 and won 4 games in a row to seal the great comeback with a score 4-6 7-5 6-2.
Anastasia Potapova will be Ostapenko's opponent in semifinals. The 4th seed has also needed to chase the score in her QF match against Harriet Dart. The last standing home representative in this tournament has won the opening set 6-4 and was leading with a break in the early stages of second set. Potapova, who was a favorite ahead of this match, regrouped well to force the third set and moved into the semis with a score 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Perfect week for Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova performs very well as a top seed in Birmingham. The Czech has moved into semis without losing a single set so far. Krejcikova has played against her fellowcountry Linda Fruhvirtova on Friday. The world's number 12 was a favorite there, but Fruhvirtova has showed a really impressive form in her two opening matches, so the match was expected to be exciting battle between both Czechs. It was a one way traffic though, as Krejcikova showed an ultimate performance, being a dominating force on the court and untouchable during own serve, as the more experienced Czech did not face any single breakpoint throughout whole the match ended up with a score 6-3 6-2.
Lin Zhu is the semifinal's opponent of Krejcikova after defeating Rebecca Marino in another three-setter today. The Chinese came back from being a set down and achieved her first career's semifinal in grass tournament, winning by 4-6 6-3 6-2.
