Wildcard Rutuja Bhosale continued her splendid run of form to upset top seed and world no 86 Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia to enter the semi-final of the $25,000 Solapur Open. Meanwhile, second seed and India’s top-ranked singles player Ankita Raina bowed out of the tournament, going down to Russia’s Maria Melnikova 4-6, 6-3, 1-6.
In a well contested quarter-final, Bhosale justified her wildcard tag by registering one of her biggest career wins, knocking out top seed and world no 86 Zidansek 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a match that lasted for 118 minutes. She will face fourth seeded Jia Jing Lu of China for a place in the final.
Lu came back strongly after a sluggish start to lead 6-4, 2-0 when her opponent Denis Khazaniuk Of Israel conceded her match due to a back injury.
Unseeded Marina Melnikova continued her good run making the semifinals with a 6-1 ,6-2 win over seventh seeded Kai-Lin Zhang to set up a last-four clash with fifth seed Quirine Lemoine of Netherlands. Lemoine got the better of Polish player Katarzyna Piter 7-5, 6-3.
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