No. 3 seed Anastasija Sevastova launched a gigantic comeback to make the final four in Mallorca, where she is by far the highest ranked player remaining.
Top seed Caroline Garcia was among the latest seeds to lose, falling 6-3, 6-3 to 19-year-old American qualifier Sofia Kenin in less than an hour and a half. Kenin thoroughly outclassed the world No. 6, winning 68 percent of points on her serve and just shy of half on Garcia’s racket. The Frenchwoman earned just three break points, and only one before the final game of the match.
Nerves got to the American, seeking her first tour semifinal and top 10 victory, in that final game. She double faulted on consecutive points, but recovered and used a powerful serve on her first match point to stun the top seed. Kenin had won five of six games earlier in the set, breaking Garcia’s serve twice, to look the better player on the day.
“I’m very happy. She’s a great player. It was a really tough match,” Kenin said. “I knew I was playing well and I had a lot of confidence.”
Sevastova looked like she would go the way of Garcia, but made an improbable run from near-defeat to push past Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Sevastova called for a trainer trailing 6-3, 3-0, then won 12 of the last 13 games to continue her defense of her 2017 Mallorca title.
She broke Tomljanovic’s serve four straight times en route to eight games on the trot spanning sets, then took the last four against the demoralized Australian. Tomljanovic won 11 total points in the final set; she won 12 on Sevastova’s serve alone in the first.
The Australian was well in control then, displaying an impenetrable mix of slices, groundstrokes and touch at the net. By the later stages, however, the Latvian couldn’t be cracked, winning points with whatever shot she wanted as Tomljanovic had no answer for anything.
Tellingly, Tomljanovic garnered three break points in one third set game, but managed to let each one slip away.
The defending champion will meet Samantha Stosur in the semifinals, as the veteran Australian eased past American qualifier Alison Riske 6-4, 6-2. Stosur won each of Riske’s four second set service games, a rarity against the grass court specialist. The American had eight costly double faults and won less than half of points on her serve.
Tatjana Maria outlasted No. 7 seed Lucie Safarova 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 in more than two and a half hours, stemming a run of four consecutive breaks to serve out the match and secure a meeting with Kenin in the semifinals.
