Eighth seeded American Katie Volynets and unseeded Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono eased into singles semi-finals of the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series Tennis Championships, being organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) and the Cricket Club of India (CCI).
The 22-year-old Volynets dashed the hopes of 21-year-old South Korean lucky loser Sohyun Park, racing to a quick 6-1, 6-2 in a one-sided quarter-final match at the iconic CCI courts on Friday afternoon.
The American, who dashed the aspirations of Indian wild-carder Rutuja Bhosale in a second round match on Thursday evening, will next meet Storm Hunter for a spot in Sunday’s final. Hunter, currently ranked No 3 in the world in doubles, advanced to the semi-finals after Russian teen Alina Korneeva withdrew from the tournament due to a viral illness. The Australian had also benefited from a retirement earlier in the week when Hungary’s Fanny Stollar withdrew after trailing 0-3 in the first set of their first round clash.
Later in the day, Dutchwoman Hartono reached the singles semi-finals after Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima retired with the Dutchwoman leading 6-3, 4-3. Hartono is now in contention for a double triumph in this event after reaching the doubles semi-finals with India’s Prarthana Thombare on Thursday.
Hartono will next face either sixth seed Darja Semenistaja of Latvia who easily defeated 20-year-old Russian Polina Kudermetova in two straight sets at 6-4, 6-3 in the evening session match of the day.
The semi-finals of both the singles and doubles event will take place on Saturday with the finals being held on Sunday February 11.
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