Gauff, Bejlek set semifinal match-up in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Aug 22 (IANS) No. 4 seed Coco Gauff defeated No. 10 seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2 to move through to the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open.

Gauff is now 4-2 against Kostyuk on the WTA Tour. She also becomes the fourth player in the Open Era to reach multiple Cincinnati Open semifinals before turning 23, joining Linda Tuero, Vera Zvonareva and Evonne Goolagong.

After a tough second-round battle against Liudmila Samsonova, Gauff has dominated and is through to her second straight semifinal following a strong run to a title and fifth of the season.

Gauff’s game should stack up well against Bejlek as the American employed a diverse shot selection, covers the court the best of anyone on tour and can likely handle Bejlek’s lofted style. She handled Kostyuk, who’s reached back-to-back Grand Slam semifinals, with ease and her last two tournaments has dropped just two sets.

In the semifinals, Gauff will play Sara Bejlek, who came from a set down and 4-2 down in the eventual third-set tiebreak to top former Australian Open champion Madison Keys 3-6, 6-4, 7- 6 (5).

Bejlek stormed to her first WTA Tour title as a qualifier at the Abu Dhabi Open in February — but hadn’t won more than two consecutive on tour since then. Until Cincinnati, where she’s won five straight — and knocked off four seeds and a former World No. 1 to boot.

Bejlek’s impressive run of wins so far has also included compatriots Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova, who join Sabalenka and Keys as former WTA 1000 champions. Since 2009, Bejlek is just the second player to defeat four such players en route to a WTA 1000 semifinal, after Pliskova did it in Madrid eight years ago.

En route to the semifinals Bejlek has beaten a former No. 1 in Karolina Pliskova, current No. 1 Aryna SabalenkaView Profile and additonal Grand Slam champions in Madison Keys and Barbora Krejcikova.