Martic edges Sasnovich to reach Palermo semifinals

PALERMO, Italy - Top seed Petra Martic edged qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Friday's opening singles match, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), to become the first player through to the semifinals at the 31st Palermo Ladies' Open. 

The World No.15's path to the final four was not without adversity, as she was pushed all the way in a tight two-setter against the former World No.30 in two hours and 18 minutes.

Martic rallied from a break down in the first set and needed four match points to ultimately seal victory, as she twice served for the match before sealing it in a second tiebreak.

In all, the high-quality affair saw both players produce far more winners than unforced errors, as Martic racked up 54 winners to 23 unforced, while Sasnovich recorded 45 winners to 28 errors. 

"Overall, it was a good fight. I knew she wasn't going to give up until the match was over, and that's what she proved once again," Martic said on-court after the match.

"I think today was better than yesterday. There are some things that I was happy with, some things that I'm not really happy with... but I'm really just happy that I managed to win this match in two sets."

The first player to win a set against Sasnovich in the Belarusian's six matches this week, Martic trailed 5-4 in the opener after the first eight games went with serve, but broke Sasnovich before she could earn a set point.

The Croatian No.1 stayed ahead from there, and though she saved three break points at 5-5 and could not convert her first set point in Sasnovich's ensuing service game, held off the Belarusian's complete comeback effort.

With the tiebreak finely poised at 5-5, after Martic had held leads of 4-2 and 5-3, a deep forehand that forced a Sasnovich error and an unreturned serve finally handed the top seed the set after nearly 75 minutes of play. 

Martic seemed on course for an uncomplicated victory in the second set, as she won four of the first five games to build a 4-1 lead, breaking the World No.119 twice. Undaunted by the deficit, however, Sasnovich immediately got one of the breaks back, and stayed in touch in the set's late stages.

"I had to adjust from my match yesterday [against Liudmila Samsonova]. The points were longer and it was more physical," Martic told reporters via Zoom after the match.

"It was a tough two sets, but I'm really happy that even though things weren't going my way at the end of the second set, that I managed to pull through."

Read more: Martic survives Samsonova to book Palermo quarterfinals

"I knew I had to attack her second serve. I don't think I did is so well, but at least I tried," she added with a laugh. "I tried to mix up my serve and gain some advantage there.

"She returns really well, especially off of first serves, and she likes to get in on my kick [serve], so I knew I wasn't going to have many free points. I tried to stay sharp there, and just play my normal game."

Trailing 40-15 at 5-4 with Martic serving, Sasnovich found some of her best tennis from her forehand side to save both match points, and later erased another after deuce before leveling the set at 5-5. Her second break of serve as she faced eliminated proved much less complicated, as she never allowed Martic a foothold and forced a tiebreak with a break to 15.

Nonetheless, the top seed again came through in the clutch as she moved ahead late in the second set tiebreak, winning five of the final six points to take victory and earn a berth in her second semifinal of the season after February's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

"I had two tough matches and my body's holding up well," Martic said. "I have no major issues... just maybe soreness that I'm sure we all have in the first tournament back.

"It feels nice to be reminded of how it feels to be that kind of tired, but all in all, I'm happy. I had some good weeks of practice and it's paying off."