Chennai, Oct 31 (PTI) Third seed Donna Vekic, the highest remaining seed in the singles draw, crashed out of the WTA Chennai Open after a straight-set quarterfinal defeat to seventh seed Kimberley Birrell of Australia here on Friday.
Birrell beat the Olympic silver medallist 6-4, 6-0 to notch her second win in four meetings and avenge a first-round loss at Wimbledon earlier this year.
She will next meet Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland, who defeated Australian lucky loser Arina Rodionova 6-2, 7-6(2) to reach her first WTA Tour semifinal.
Fourth seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia continued her fine form, dispatching 17-year-old wildcard Mia Pohankova 6-3, 6-1.
Tjen, who began the year outside the top 400, has risen to No. 82 and will face Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee, a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Polina Iatcenko, in the last four.
In doubles, India’s Riya Bhatia and Rutuja Bhosale advanced to the semifinals after receiving a walkover from Polina Iatcenko and Maria Timofeeva, while the young Indian pair of Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi and Vaishnavi Adkar lost 2-6, 1-6 to second seeds Janice Tjen and Aldila Sutjiadi.
Results (QFs): Singles: Kimberley Birrell (AUS) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-4, 6-0; Janice Tjen (INA) bt Mia Pohankova (SVK) 6-3, 6-1; Joanna Garland (TPE) bt Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-2, 7-6(2); Lanlana Tararudee (THA) bt Polina Iatcenko 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles: Storm Hunter (AUS)/Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Tatiana Prozorova/Ekaterina Yashina 6-2, 6-1; Janice Tjen (INA)/Aldila Sutjiadi (INA) bt Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi (IND)/Vaishnavi Adkar (IND) 6-2, 6-1; Riya Bhatia (IND)/Rutuja Bhosale (IND) bt Polina Iatcenko/Maria Timofeeva (UZB) w/o; Mai Hontama (JPN)/Aiko Omae (JPN) bt Hiroko Kuwata (JPN)/Thasaporn Naklo (THA) 7-6(2), 6-3.
This report includes content sourced from Press Trust of India (PTI), edited for clarity and context.
