The semifinals are set at the National Bank Cup presented by IGA after Friday’s action at PEPS on the campus of Laval University with all fourth matches finishing in straight sets and three of the top four seeds advancing to the final four.
Saturday’s first semifinal at 11 a.m. will see fourth-seeded Tatjana Maria of Germany take on seventh-seeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck. Maria, who has yet to drop a set this week, defeated American Sachia Vickery 6-1, 6-3 while Van Uytvanck was a 6-2, 6-2 winner over American qualifier Caroline Dolehide.
“If you win matches you get confidence and I have won a lot of matches this summer so I am pretty confident. I like to play indoors so that’s nice for me also,” Maria said after the match.
Top-seeded Lucie Safarova booked her spot in the semifinals thanks to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over her Czech compatriot Lucie Hradecka after trailing 0-3 in the opening set. Thanks to her run in Quebec City, which she hopes will conclude with her lifting her first singles title of the season, Safarova will be back in the top 30 on the WTA rankings on Monday. Safarova will meet third-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary who knocked out Montreal’s Francoise Abanda 6-3, 6-2 on Friday night.
“I am pretty happy with my game, I was serving well and returning well, waiting for my opportunities she gave me,” Safarova said.
