Belinda Bencic reached the semi-final stage in Luxembourg in style with a comprehensive 6-4 6-1 victory over rising star Vera Lapko.
It has been an impressive return to form this week from the Swiss, who is now starting to climb back up the rankings (she will be back in the top 40 next week) after a series of injuries which have disrupted her last three years on the WTA tour.
Bencic came through three rounds of qualifying to earn her place in the main draw. She beat fellow qualifier Arantxa Rus in straight sets in the first round and then blew away ninth seed Kirsten Flipkens 6-1 6-3 to book her place in the quarter-finals.
Those results earned the Swiss a meeting with Lapko for the second tournament in a row. Last week in Linz, the Belarussian beat Bencic 1-6 6-1 6-0.
This time, it was a totally different story. The Swiss qualifier served superbly and dominated proceedings from the baseline to wrap up victory in 81 minutes.
Lapko pushed Bencic hard in the first set and, if she had taken either of the break points she created in the second game, the match may have gone differently.
However, the Swiss held serve, broke the Belarussian in game three and never looked back. The rest of the first set went with serve and Bencic then romped away with the second set.
Bencic to face Yastremska in semi-final clash
The World No.47 did not have to wait long after her match to discover her semi-final opponent. Dayana Yastremska swatted aside Margarita Gasparyan 6-1 6-4 in exactly an hour.
The Ukrainian, 18, who earned a headline-making win over Garbine Muguruza in the last 16, annihilated the Russian’s second serve to earn five breaks in the match.
It continues a run of eight consecutive wins for Yastremska, who won her first WTA title in Hong Kong last week.
The Ukrainian’s form makes her a very dangerous opponent for Bencic, but the Swiss looks confident too and it could be a thrilling semi-final.
