SUMMARY
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Unseeded Italian Martina Trevisan maintained her impressive form as she surged into the French Open semifinals with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 defeat of Filipino-Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday, May 31.
Trevisan had all the answers as she dominated most of the match against a below-par Fernandez, who struggled to repeat the form that took her to last year’s US Open final.
The world No. 59 could have won in straight sets but wavered when serving for the match at 5-4 in the second as fellow left-hander Fernandez dug deep to stay in the contest.
Fernandez comfortably claimed the tiebreak to become the first player to take a set off Trevisan at Roland Garros this year, but it was to prove only a brief respite.
Trevisan raced into a 3-0 lead in the deciding set and won a fiercely-contested fourth game to earn a double break.
Fernandez, who was treated for a foot injury in the first set, was never going to go away quietly though and broke serve twice herself to claw back to 3-5.
The nerves were obvious as Trevisan again served for the match but this time she would not be denied as she secured the win with an angled crosscourt forehand.
“I felt a bit nervous on the match point (in the second set) but it was normal to feel that emotion because this was only my second Grand Slam quarter-final,” said the 28-year-old Italian, who won her first WTA title in Rabat this month.
“I came here with a lot of energy and to put all my emotion on the court.”
Trevisan displayed her claycourt expertise two years ago in Paris when she lost to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. Now she has gone further and will be confident against either Coco Gauff or Sloane Stephens in the semifinal.
She is bidding to emulate compatriot Francesca Schiavone, who won the title in 2010, and the way she is playing suggests she will take some stopping in that quest.
Trevisan, surprisingly making only her third main draw appearance in Paris, began the match in confident fashion and broke serve in the opening game.
Fernandez winced in the fifth game and needed treatment on her left foot but after resuming slipped 5-2 down as Trevisan fired a forehand winner down the line.
The 19-year-old earned a break at the start of the second set but Trevisan reestablished control and broke twice to hold a 5-4 lead with her serve to come.
Fernandez showed great calmness, however, to take the match into a tiebreak which she claimed with ease.
She could have no complaints, however, as Trevisan seized her opportunity in the decider and held her nerve for her 10th successive victory. – Rappler.com
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