Australian women are serving it up to the world’s best, with two of the country’s tour veterans advancing to the semi-finals of WTA events.
In Austin, Texas, Ajla Tomljanovic stands two wins away from a first WTA 500 singles title after claiming a dramatic quarter-final victory on Friday (Saturday AEDT).
And in Mexico, qualifier Daria Saville advanced to the last four of the Merida Open Akron when Spaniard Paula Badosa, the second seed, was forced to retire.
Saville, ranked No.121, trailed 1-6 5-3 when world No.11 Badosa called it quits with a back injury.
In Austin, Tomljanovic surged to a 5-2 lead in the final set of her quarter-final, but needed eight match points to eventually clinch victory against Ena Shibahara.
The Japanese qualifier, who had upset Australian Kim Birrell in the previous round, pushed Tomljanovic to a final-set tiebreak before the Aussie closed it out 7-5 3-6 7-6 (10-8) after more than two and a half hours.
Tomljanovic next faces No.1 seed Jessica Pegula, who scored a 6-2 6-2 win over Russian Anna Blinkova.
World No.111 Tomljanovic, who was given a wildcard to the event, had earlier upset No.7 seed Katie Volynets, before a three-set win over Jodie Burrage, who had ousted comeback star Petra Kvitova in the first round.
Tomljanovic, 31, advanced to her first WTA semi-final since June in Birmingham, where she made the final.
Her performances in Austin have boosted her ranking to a provisional position of world No.93.
At the hardcourt event in Merida, Mexico, Saville next plays Colombian qualifier Emiliana Arango.
The 30-year-old Saville, who has a career-high ranking of No.20, is set to improve at least 10 places on her current No.121 ranking.
She had also scored main-draw wins over Marta Kostyuk and Anhelina Kalinina on her way to her first semi-final since the Hobart International in 2024.
Her victory kept the Australian flag flying in Mexico, after teen sensation Maya Joint’s run was ended by world No.45 Elina Avanesyan, the Armenian fighting back after losing the first set to win their quarter-final 4-6 6-2 6-0.
The 18-year-old Joint will take heart from another milestone as she makes her first appearance in the world’s top 100 when the rankings are released next week.
Joint, who made the semi-finals in Hobart this year, stunned fifth seed Donna Vekic en route to the tournament’s final eight.
It was the first time two Australians had reached the Merida quarter-finals and only the third time Australians have done so at a 500-level tournament, the others at Birmingham in 2017 and in Sydney in 2018.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/tennis/aussie-aces-serve-it-up-to-rivals-to-make-wta-semis-c-17891440
