Wuhan Open: Barty beats Pavlyuchenkova, enters semis

Australia's Ashleigh Barty rallied late in the third set to eliminate Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from the Wuhan Open quarter-finals here on Thursday.

The number 16 seed won four of the last five games to seal the 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win and return to the last four at Wuhan. Barty lost in last year's final to France's Caroline Garcia, reports Efe news.

"It's been an exciting week, and I was lucky to get out of that match," Barty said on court after the match. "It was extremely close and could've gone either way, but I'm happy to give myself another opportunity tomorrow."

Barty, ranked number 17 in the world by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), squandered the opportunity to seal the victory in the second set, when she was just two points from the win, and rallied later on to win the third set 6-4.

Barty moves on to the semi-final, where she will face either Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia or Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka.

--IANS

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