Heather Watson celebrates
Heather Watson celebrates

Heather Watson through to last four of Coupe Banque Nationale


Heather Watson booked her place in the semi-finals of the Coupe Banque Nationale with a straight-sets victory over Rebecca Marino.

The British number three needed just 72 minutes on court to seal a 6-3 6-4 win and set up a meeting with Pauline Parmentier in the final four in Quebec.

Watson began the match strongly, breaking on her opponent's first service game to go 2-0 up.

The Canadian wildcard rallied to level the match a game later, but was broken again as the Briton edged ahead 4-2.

Watson needed just one break of serve in the second set - and did not face any break points against her own serve - to take the win on her first match point.

Up next for the Briton is Pauline Parmentier, who beat American Varvara Lepchenko 7-6 (7/5) 6-1.

Qualifier Jessica Pegula produced an upset as she put an end to the seven-match winning streak of number two seed Petra Martic.

The world number 227 produced a confident display, winning 85% of her first serve points to topple her Croatian opponent 6-3 7-5 and book her place in the semi-finals.

Pegula needed just one break of serve off the back of a double fault from Martic to close out the opening set, while the second set saw the pair exchange breaks.

With the scores tied at 5-5, the American played aggressively to go 6-5 up before holding her nerve to serve out the match.

She will now face a meeting with compatriot Sofia Kenin, who reached the second WTA semi-final of her career by ousting number three seed Monica Puig.

The 19-year-old hit six aces and lost just six points on serve as she dismissed the Puerto Rican 6-3 6-1 in 55 minutes.

As the number five seed, Kenin is now the highest-ranked player left in the draw in Quebec.

At the Japan Women's Open, top seed Zhang Shuai overcame injury and weather delays to reach the semi-finals with victory over defending champion Zarina Diyas.

The 29-year-old was carrying a leg injury but it did not prevent Zhang securing a 6-4 7-5 win to advance to the last four.

American qualifier Amanda Anisimova will face Zhang for a place in the final after 17-year-old secured her maiden WTA semi-final appearance at the expense of Anna Schmiedlova.

A near-three hour rain delay was not enough to knock Anisimova off her stride as she eased to a 6-3 6-1 win.

Number four seed Wang Qiang assured herself of a spot in the other semi-final as she recovered from a slow start to see off Madga Linette of Poland.

Linette took the first two games before Wang hit back by taking the next eight on her way to a 6-2 6-2 success.

The final quarter-final of the competition will be completed on Saturday after Ajla Tomljanovic's meeting with Hsieh Su-Wei was postponed with less than three minutes played.

A heavy downpour caused the match to be halted inside the first game with the Taiwanese player leading 30-15 on her serve.

Related tennis links

Like what you've read?

MOST READ

Sporting Life
Join for free!
Access to exclusive features all for FREE - No monthly subscription fee
Race Replays
My stable horse tracker
giftOffers and prize draws
newsExclusive content

Next Off

Fixtures & Results

Fetching latest games....
We are committed to Safer Gambling and have a number of self-help tools to help you manage your gambling. We also work with a number of independent charitable organisations who can offer help and answers any questions you may have.
Gamble Aware LogoGamble Helpline LogoGamstop LogoGordon Moody LogoSafer Gambling Standard LogoGamban Logo18+ LogoTake Time To Think Logo