Sabalenka sees off Badosa to reach Stuttgart semis

World number two Aryna Sabalenka came from a set and a break down to see off Spanish wild card Paula Badosa and reach the WTA Stuttgart semi-finals for the third consecutive year
on Friday.
The Belarusian won through 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours, 30 minutes and next meets Russian Anastasia Potapova who ousted French fourth seed Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, for a place in the final.
In a tight first set, Badosa saved three break points to serve out, and opened a 6-4, 4-2 lead before Sabalenka broke back for 4-4, reeling off seven games on the trot for a 3-0 lead in the third set.
In the decider, the pair traded serves with five breaks but 31st-ranked Badosa, who fell to Sabalenka in the semi-finals in Stuttgart last year, paid for a string of double faults with nine in total.
Sabalenka sealed victory on her second match point with a backhand into an open court nailing her 40th winner of the day on clay in the French Open warm-up tournament.
The Australian Open champion advances to her fourth semi-final in six tournaments this year, with her overall record now 22-3 for 2023.
Sabalenka is seeking her first Stuttgart title after two runner-up finishes in 2021 to Ashleigh Barty and in 2022 to Iga Swiatek.
No 3 seed Ons Jabeur rolled into the semi-finals at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia in yesterday’s quarter-finals.
Later, Jabeur needed just 68 minutes to dispatch the World No 14 in their first tour-level meeting. She broke serve four times, and won the last seven games.
After the match, the Tunisian rated her performance an A-plus.
“I don’t think my coach could tell me anything for today,” Jabeur said. “She’s an amazing player, but I think I really played my ‘A’ game today. I’m very happy with the way I played, especially in the second set, very relaxed and making the right choices.”