Emma Raducanu failed to make her second WTA semifinal of the year after losing a tight battle to Paula Badosa, while top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka progressed following a straight-set win over Daria Kasatkina.
On Friday, Raducanu made a positive start to her Washington quarterfinal match against Badosa but then failed to capitalize on her early lead as the Spaniard came back from a set down to beat the Briton 4-6 7-5 6-4.Â
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A couple of hours later, Sabalenka defeated Victoria Azarenka in an all-Belarusian meeting.6-4 6-4.
Now, Badosa is set to battle against Caroline Dolehide in the Washington semifinal while Sabalenka will play against Marie Bouzkova for a place in the final.
How Badosa beat Raducanu?
After breaking Badosa in the very first game of the match, Raducanu then held on to her serve for the rest of the set to clinch the opener.
Down by a set, Badosa earned her first break of the match in the best possible time as she was 6-5 up in the second set when she broke Raducanu to win the second set and force a decider.
Early in the third set, it was Raducanu who made a better start and opened a 3-1 lead. But then, Raducanu dropped the next four games. When serving for the match in the ninth game, Badosa didn’t manage to close out the match but broke Raducanu in the 10th game to complete her comeback win.
How Sabalenka overcame Azarenka?
Sabalenka blew a break she earned in the sixth game but still won the opener after breaking Azarenka in the 10th game – the game in which the elder Belarusian was serving to stay in the first set.Â
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After winning the last two games of the first set, Sabalenka also won the first three games of the second set.Â
Down by a set and a break, Azarenka refused to quit and responded by winning the next three games to level the second set to three games apiece.
However, Sabalenka remained calm and completed her win after breaking Azarenka in the 10th game when the former world No. 1 was serving to stay in the match.Â