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Caroline Garcia had to go through three long sets against Daria Kassatkina
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IMAGO/Susan Mullane/IMAGO/USA TODAY Network
France's Caroline Garcia has reached the semifinals at the WTA Finals of the world's top eight tennis players.
The US Open semi-finalist prevailed in Fort Worth/Texas 4: 6, 6: 1, 7: 6 (7: 5) against the Russian Darja Kassatkina.
In the last four, Garcia meets Greece's Maria Sakkari.
In the second semi-final, world number one Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka will play for entry into the final.
Garcia found her fighting spirit in the match as she finally defeated Kasatkina on match point after a 32-point rallies.
In the first set, lost 4:6, the otherwise mentally strong player showed nerves when she threw a banana against her bench in frustration.
She then found her way back to her aggressive style and literally rolled over Kassatkina in the second set.
In the third set, perhaps the best tennis of the tournament could be seen.
In the 80-minute exchange of blows, Kassatkina fended off six break points in the ninth game, but still had to admit defeat to Garcia.
With Maria Sakkari, Garcia meets a player in the semifinals whom she had defeated in her first tournament win in Cincinnati in the fourth round.
"The last match in Cincinnati was a very close match," Garcia said.
»She plays great tennis, it will be a completely different game than today.«
Świątek into the semifinals without losing a set
Three-time Major winner Świątek had already qualified for the semi-finals and made short work of Coco Gauff 6-3 and 6-0 in the repeat of the Roland Garros final this year.
Świątek has not yet lost a set in Fort Worth and now meets Aryna Sabalenka.
It ended a bitterly disappointing debut at the WTA Finals for 18-year-old Gauff after failing to record a win in the group stage.
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