WTA roundup: Sevastova survives at Bucharest
Top-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova was forced to rally to defeat fifth-seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday and advance to the semifinals of the BRD Bucharest Open in Romania. The 22nd-ranked Sevastova was broken twice on her way to dropping the first set to Cirstea, ranked 57th. But Sevastova recovered, breaking Cirstea twice on her way to a 5-1 lead before closing out the second set. Sevastova added three more breaks of serve in the decisive third set before serving out the match in 1 hour, 46 minutes. Sevastova will next face eighth-seeded Slovenian Polona Hercog, who defeated Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-1. Earlier in the day, Jabeur defeated Russia's Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-2 in a rain-delayed match for her spot in the quarterfinals. Saturday's other semifinal will see second-seeded Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu, a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victor over China's Yafan Wang, take on fourth-seeded Croatian Petra Martic, who outlasted German Laura Siegemund 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Ladies Championships Gstaad Top-seeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet fended off fifth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur 6-4, 7-6 (2) to advance to the semifinals at Gstaad, Switzerland. Luxembourg's Mandy Minella triumphed over Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-2 for her spot in the other semifinal. There, she will take on Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who ousted Russia's Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-3. --Field Level Media
