Radwanska into Tashkent semis
Urszula Radwanska came from behind to beat Alexandra Panova of Russia 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in just over three hours to reach the semifinals of the Tashkent Open on Tuesday.
Radwanska, the younger sister of third-ranked Agnieszka, broke six times in the match but dropped her own serve five times.
The 40th-ranked Pole will play Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, who upset eighth-seeded Galina Voeskoboeva of Kazakhstan 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5.
Donna Vekic dispatched sixth-seeded Bojana Jovanoski of Serbia 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first career semifinal. The 16-year-old Croat will meet Eva Birnervo after the Czech defeated fifth-seeded Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
"Reaching the semifinals at a WTA tour event has not sunk in yet," Vekic said. "I'm happy that I played very well."
Radwanska was in trouble early against the hard-hitting Panova.
After winning the first set, the Russian raced to a 2-0 lead in the second before dropping four straight games. The pair then traded breaks to set up the tiebreaker, which was won comfortably by Radwanska.
"It was a great and close match and I tried to focus on every point," said Radwanska, who is aiming to win her second title this year. "I was a little lucky to have won against a good friend."
Panova put the loss down to Radwanska being "physically better than me today."
"I played well and gave everything when I was down a few points," Panova said. "It hurts after coming so close."
