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Aryna Sabalenka reached her sixth WTA 1000 semifinals after defeating Marya Sherif.
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a set down to end Mayar Sherif's fairytale run in Miami, defeating the Egyptian 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Miami Open semifinals.
Sherif, was having a fantastic run in Madrid after defeating top seeds Caroline Garcia and Elise Mertens to make her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals; becoming the first player from her country to achieve the feat.
Facing the world No.2 was going to be a tough battle to overcome. After winning the first set, it looked as if another major upset was about to happen.
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But Sabalenka gave no room for mistakes again in the second set and sealed the decider to reach her tenth WTA 1000 semifinals, becoming the sixth player to accomplish this since 2009 before turning 25. The other players were Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, and Elina Svitolina.
She is also undefeated so far in her WTA clay court career, winning nine consecutive quarterfinal matches and is the first player to reach the quarterfinals in each of her first seven tournament appearances in a single year since 2012. The previous players to do this were Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Victoria Azarenka.
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Speaking after the match on beating Sherif, Sabalenka had kind words for the Egyptian naming her a 'clay court specialist'.
“Honestly, I was just trying to keep fighting, playing my game, and trying to find my rhythm. She played unbelievable tennis. I would say she’s a clay court specialist and I’m really happy with this win. It was a very tough one.”
And Sherif can take solace in the fact that she is now up to 41 in the live rankings - a career-high.
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