Swiatek beats Raducanu in Stuttgart quarters. Sabalenka loses to Vondrousova

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Emma Raducanu’s winning run came to an end in a 7-6 (2), 6-3 loss to top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the Porsche Grand Prix on Friday.

Raducanu, ranked 303rd, had produced some of her best form since winning the 2021 U.S. Open as she won two Billie Jean King Cup matches last week and followed up with two wins to reach the Stuttgart quarterfinals.

That form wasn’t quite enough to beat the top-ranked Swiatek, who is on course to win the Stuttgart tournament for the third year running in a key part of her clay-court preparation for next month’s French Open.

“It was a pretty intense match, so I’m happy that I was able to keep the intensity even though we played tough games for two hours,” Swiatek said. Asked if she thought Raducanu was on the path back to challenging for titles, Swiatek said: “I hope she’ll be able to do it, because for sure, she has a game for that, but it’s not easy.”

Raducanu broke Swiatek’s serve in the opening game but the Polish player broke back immediately and eventually took the first-set tiebreak after racing to 4-0. Swiatek carried that momentum to break her British opponent to love in the first game of the second set, building a lead she kept throughout.

Swiatek next plays Elena Rybakina, who beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in their quarterfinal after recovering from a break down in the deciding set.

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk needed eight match points to stun third-ranked Coco Gauff 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) in their quarterfinal.

Gauff saved three match points at 5-4 down in the decider and four consecutive match points in the tiebreak. Kostyuk herself had saved five match points in a win over Zheng Qinwen the day before.

“It’s very, very close,” Kostyuk said. “Definitely an amazing feeling to be in the semis here.”

Kostyuk next takes on Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who upset second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-3, 7-5 to reach a semifinals for the first time since winning the grass-court Grand Slam last year.

It was Sabalenka’s first appearance in a quarterfinal since winning the Australian Open in January.

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This story has been updated to correct the semifinal draw. Iga Swiatek next plays Elena Rybakina, not Marta Kostyuk. Marketa Vondrousova plays Kostyuk, not Rybakina.

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AP tennis: https://ift.tt/h5OdDos

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