Simona Halep & Garbine Muguruza reach SFs of Australian Open 2020

Speed Post News Network

Patna : Reigning Wimbledon Champion & World No 3 Simona Halep, 28, and 2017 Wimbledon Champion Garbine Muguruza, 26, Spain, entered the semi-finals of Australian Open (AO) 2020 at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on January 29, 2020, winning their respective quarter-finals matches in straight sets. The two players will clash in the semi-finals on January 30, 2020. World No 1 Ashleigh Barty, 23, Australia, will play World No 15 Sofia Kenin, 21, USA, in the other semi-finals the same day.

Fourth seed Simona Halep, the 2018 AO finalist, routed World No 31 Anett Kontaveit, 24, Estonia, 6-1, 6-1 in QFs at Rod Laver Arena breaking the latter’s service five times in the match besides winning 11 games in a row. Simona won 29 service points in the match to 22 by Kontaveit, who was playing her first Grand Slam QFs match. Simona, who had won French Open title in 208, also fired 5 Aces in the match to none by Kontaveit, the 28th seed.

World No 32 Garbine Muguruza defeated  World No 30 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 28, Russia, 7-5, 6-3 in the QFs at Rod Laver Arena. Muguruza, who had also won French Open title in 2016, won 5 break points in the match to 3 by the Russian. The Spaniard fired 6 Aces in the match to 4 by the Russian. Pavlyuchenkova committed 8 double faults in the match to 4 by the Spaniard. Muguruza won 3 games in a row to 2 by Pavlyuchenkova, who had reached QFs of Australian Open in 2017 and 2019 too. Pavlyuchenkova has reached QFs at all the four Grand Slams in her career and has won 12 WTA titles.