Ostapenko completes semifinal field in Wuhan with upset of No.1 Muguruza

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In the last 2017 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open quarterfinal, a battle between two reigning Grand Slam champions, eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko scored her first win over a world No.1 player and, fresh off her Seoul title, extended her winning streak to eight consecutive matches by beating Garbine Muguruza 1-6 6-3 6-2.

The top-seeded Muguruza marched through the first set, breaking Ostapenko’s serve three times, including in the fifth game that lasted more than ten minutes. The 20-year-old Ostapenko had no opportunities to break her opponent and finished the set with a -8 winners-to-unforced-errors differential, compared to Muguruza’s 0.

The French Open champion Ostapenko twice went up a break early in the second set and even though the Wimbledon title holder Muguruza recovered both times, the Latvian broke her serve twice more to force a deciding set in which she turned out to be dominating, winning the last six games.

Ostapenko’s semifinal opponent will be Ashleigh Barty, the first player to reach the final four in Wuhan, claiming her third consecutive Top 15 win and first Top 5 win by ousting third seed and former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(2). In the third set, Pliskova recovered from 1-3 and 3-5, while at 5-all the Czech saved three match points by winning five points in a row.

The other semifinal will be contested between Caroline Garcia, who secured her progress by beating Ekaterina Makarova 7-6(3) 6-4, and world No.80 qualifier Maria Sakkari, who defeated Alize Cornet 7-6(2) 7-5.

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