Muguruza advances to Tokyo Open semis

Spanish tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza on Friday advanced to the Tokyo Open semi-finals at the expense of French player Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-4 here.

Muguruza, World No.1, put on a strong performance, especially in the first set, when she dropped just four points while serving, to seal the victory after a 83-minute contest, reports Efe.

"I felt my game was there, my intensity, and I'm happy that in important moments I played well," Muguruza said on court.

The 23-year-old Muguruza made the most of two break points she was offered in the first set.

Things could have been harder for Muguruza as she lost an early lead in the second set when Garcia, World No. 20, broke her serve, but the Caracas-born Spaniard earned another break to clinch the victory.

The two-time Grand Slam champion is set to play against the winner of the match between Danish Caroline Wozniacki and Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.

In a clash between two former World No.1s, German Angelique Kerber prevailed over Czech player Karolina Pliskova with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 win.

Both players held their serve throughout the first set, but Kerber managed to win the tie break 7-5.

The German player needed five match points and one hour and 49 minutes to overcome Pliskova.

Kerber is set to play against Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who ended the adventure of Czech player Barbora Strycova with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win.

Strycova had ousted British No.1 Johanna Konta in the previous round, but it seems her luck ran out against the Russian.

--IANS

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