German Open: Maria Sakkari reaches semis with win over Daria Kasatkina

Sakkari hadn't beaten Kasatkina in four previous encounters, including a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 loss in the second round of Madrid in May 2022. However, the 26-year-old turned out to be more assertive on grass, a surface they'd never played before. Sakkari scored 27 winners in contrast to Kasatkina's seven. In addition, the former made 16 unforced errors compared to Kasatkina's 11. The Greek has now entered her first career semi-final on grass and her fourth WTA Tour semi-final of 2022. Sakkari will now face eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic.

Fourteen of Sakkari's winners arrived at her opening set. She saved two break points and didn't let Kasatkina score any game points. The world number 12 then used her forehands aggressively to level the score from a breakdown. However, at 3-3, Sakkari pulled across four deuces to break again for 4-3. Kasatkina made two double faults in a crucial game bringing her tally to five in the match. Sakkari consequently secured her third match point, which was converted due to a forehand error by Kaskatkina. 

Ons Jabeur reaches the semi-finals after clinching a thrilling three-setter 

The first seeded Ons Jabeur recovered from a set down to secure a 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a nearly two-hour-long quarterfinal. Jabeur is all set to play Coco Gauff in the semi-final. The world number 38 Sasnovich has pushed Jabeur to three sets in all their meetings, but Jabeur won all the matches. The world number four has won 28 games this season, trumping every player except Iga Swiatek. Jabeur hit 19 winners, four more than Sasnovich, who made more unforced errors than her victorious opponent.

Sasnovich came back from 5-2 down in the first set and pocketed the tie-breakers final four points, establishing a one-set lead. Sasnovich then broke Jabeur in the first game of the second set. Luckily, Jabeur picked pace after conceding the game and threw robust returns to win six of the next seven games. She claimed the second set quickly and then took on the third set with a break for 4-2. She won the next two games and hit a tweener in her last match to forge a satisfying victory.