By Tennis Now | Thursday, October 19, 2017
Natalia Vikhlyantseva rallied past Alizé Cornet, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a grueling three-hour victory setting up a Moscow semifinal with Julia Goerges.
Photo credit: Kremlin Cup Facebook
The Moscow final four features a strong Russian flavor.
A resilient Natalia Vikhlyantseva rallied past Alizé Cornet, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a grueling three-hour victory that saw both women take medical time outs.
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The 67th-ranked Russian reached her first WTA semifinal since ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June when she powered into the final.
Vikhlyantseva will face Julia Goerges for a place in the final.
The seventh-seeded Goerges grinded out a 6-3, 6-4 conquest of Lesia Tsurenko in one hour, 48 minutes.
World No. 27 Goerges is playing for her fourth final of the season and first since August when she was runner-up to Ekaterina Makarova in Washington, DC. Goerges is bidding for her first WTA title since the 2011 Stuttgart.
Daria Kasatkina continued her roll in her native Russia.
The 20-year-old Kasatkina beat Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-4, 6-3, in one hour, 23 minutes. It was Kasatkina's third victory in four meetings with Sasnovich.
“At some point I probably was a bit nervous and didn’t know how to close out the match,” Kasatkina said. “But I’m glad that I managed to close out the first set and then the match.”
Next up for Kasatkina is a semifinal match with Irina-Camelia Begu, who topped qualifier Vera Lapko, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Kasatkina has won four of five encounters with Begu, including all three of their meetings this season.