E-Paper
Alize Cornet into Brisbane final after Garbine Muguruza withdraws
Unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet reached the final of the Brisbane International when Spain’s Garbine Muguruza withdrew while trailing 1-4 in the opening set . In the men’s section at Brisbane, US Open champion Stan Wawrinka will meet third-seeded Kei Nishikori in the semifinals.
Unseeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet reached the final of the Brisbane International when Spain’s Garbine Muguruza withdrew while trailing 1-4 in the opening set of their last four clash on Friday.
Muguruza, the tournament’s fourth seed, had three long matches heading into the semi-final and was on court for more than seven hours.
Read more | Australian Open tennis junior champion Oliver Anderson charged with match fixing
She called for a trainer after the fifth game but decided she could not continue.
Cornet will play either third seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic or sixth seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in Saturday’s final.
Wawrinka -Nishikori semi
In the men’s section at Brisbane, US Open champion Stan Wawrinka will meet third-seeded Kei Nishikori in the semifinals.
Wawrinka dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker against unseeded Kyle Edmund on Friday but recovered for a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4 win, reaching the last four in his first trip to the Brisbane tournament.
In the previous three years, Wawrinka won the title in Chennai in the first week of the season before heading to Australia for the season’s first major.
Nishikori has now reached the semifinals four times in six visits to the Brisbane International.
The 2014 US Open finalist needed just an hour for a 6-1, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Australian wildcard entry Jordan Thompson.
Thompson beat former top 10 regular David Ferrer in the second round but against Nishikori, he only managed to hold serve in the third game and in the fourth game of the second set.
Nishikori only made 11 unforced errors and didn’t face a breakpoint.
Later Friday, defending champion Milos Raonic will meet 14-time Grand Slam title winner Rafael Nadal in a night quarterfinal, and fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem was playing No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov.
