Veronika Kudermetova defeats top seed Iga Swiatek in Tokyo

Top seed Swiatek, who was recently overtaken as world number one by Aryna Sabalenka, had never previously lost a set against Kudermetova but swiftly found herself 4-0 down in Tokyo.

The Pole made 50 unforced errors in total and, although she responded well to take the second set, Kudermetova was the better in the decider, winning 6-2 2-6 6-4.

"I tried to just believe that I can beat her," said the Russian, ranked 19. "Today it happened. I'm really happy that I managed to switch (the head-to-head) and win one match."

Kudermetova will next face compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated another Russian, Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-2 7-5.

Maria Sakkari, fresh from winning the biggest title of her career in Guadalajara, reached the last four with a 6-2 6-2 win over Caroline Garcia and will take on second seed Jessica Pegula, who crushed Daria Kasatkina 6-1 6-0.

The Ningbo Open final, meanwhile, will be between three-time grand slam finalist Ons Jabeur and 19-year-old Russian Diana Shnaider.

 

Read More: Carlos Alcaraz returns to action at China Open, defeats Yannick Hanfmann (planetsport.com)