Daria Kasatkina and Mirra Andreeva Shine in Semifinals in China

No. 5 seed Daria Kasatkina from Russia triumphed over Yulia Putintseva, saving two match points during the tiebreaker to secure a victory of 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (6) on Friday, thereby advancing to the semifinals of the Ningbo Open in China.

Despite losing the statistical battle to Kazakhstan's Putintseva—winning nine fewer points, serving eight double faults, and committing more unforced errors while hitting fewer winners Kasatkina demonstrated resilience.

She recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the third set and overcame a 6-4 disadvantage in the tiebreaker during the two-hour and 41-minute match.

This victory marks Kasatkina's sixth semifinal appearance of the year, where she will face No. 8 seed Paula Badosa from Spain, who defeated No. 6 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

In the other semifinal, Russia's Mirra Andreeva will compete against Czech player Karolina Muchova, who staged a comeback to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 against No. 7 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia. Andreeva advanced after Czech Barbora Krejcikova retired while trailing 7-6 (5), 3-2.

In the Japan Open, qualifier Aoi Ito's impressive journey in her first WTA Tour event continued as she defeated Germany's Eva Lys with a score of 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-3, earning her place in the semifinals in Osaka.

The 20-year-old Ito, currently ranked No. 188 in the world, took advantage of six out of ten break opportunities and won 64 percent of the points on her first serve.

In the semifinals, Ito will face Kimberly Birrell from Australia, who secured a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Japan's Sara Saito in 99 minutes. Birrell, ranked No. 150, is also in pursuit of her first WTA tournament title. The other semifinal will feature Diane Parry of France, the seventh seed, against Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.

Parry achieved a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Clara Tauson of Denmark in two hours and 17 minutes, while Lamens required six additional minutes to come from

SportsLigue