Zahlavova Strycova, Barthel advance to Luxembourg Open quarters
LUXEMBOURG -- Fourth-seeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic rolled past Swedish qualifier Johanna Larsson 6-0, 6-2 to make the Luxembourg Open semifinals on Thursday.
Despite a poor first-serve percentage, Zahlavova Strycova, the highest seed remaining in the draw, broke Larsson six times and lost just four points on her first serve.
"I played very good tennis, very solid," Zahlavova Strycova said. "I didn't make many mistakes. Everything was working."
She moved on to play Mona Barthel after Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands could not follow up her win over second-seeded Alize Cornet, slumping to a 6-3, 6-0 loss to the German. Barthel hit seven aces and saved six of the seven break points she faced.
Former runner-up Annika Beck of Germany dispatched Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria 6-2, 6-2. Mayr-Achleitner hit four double-faults and won less than half of the points on her first serve.
Up next for the 60th-ranked Beck is Denisa Allertova, a 145th-ranked Czech qualifier who rallied to beat the No. 5-seeded Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a match that lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours and featured 11 breaks.
"I started nervously," Allertova said. "But I kept fighting, tried to stay focused, and started moving better."
