No.9 seed Paula Badosa won a titanic two-set tussle to claim a semifinal spot at the Adelaide International 2 on a star-studded Thursday, squeaking past No.11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6(5), 7-5 in over two-and-a-half hours.

In the final four, Badosa will face No.5 seed Daria Kasatkina, who became the first player into the semifinals with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over No.12 seed Petra Kvitova.

Kasatkina's win kicked off a jam-packed day in Adelaide where all of the quarterfinalists are ranked inside the Top 16. This week, all of the eight top-seeded players in the field have made the quarterfinals at a single WTA-level tournament for the first time since Stanford in 2017.

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Badosa speaks: "To be honest, I know [Haddad Maia] is a fighter, and it was going to be a very long match," former World No.2 Badosa said on court, after her win. "She doesn’t give up, no matter what, and I really respect these kind of players.

"I think we served big, we tried to go for the points, but she was moving very well. I think I was the same. It was very tough, but I knew I had to go aggressive on the break points, and when I had my opportunities, that’s what I did."

By the numbers: The first meeting between Badosa and Haddad Maia lived up to expectations, with a grueling 74-minute first set followed by an even longer 81-minute second set.

Spanish No.1 Badosa edged top-ranked Brazilian Haddad Maia at the tail end of both sets. Badosa finished the day with eight more winners and one fewer unforced error than Haddad Maia, and the Spaniard has now won nine of her last 11 matches against left-handed opposition.

Badosa is seeking her first title since exactly one year ago, when she won her third career Hologic WTA Tour title in Sydney.

Match moments: On Thursday, Badosa held an early 4-2 lead in the opening set, but Haddad Maia slammed a forehand winner down the line to pull back on serve at 5-4.

There were no further breaks in the first set en route to a decisive tiebreak, where Badosa hit an ace to lead 6-2 and hold four set points. Big hitting by Haddad Maia helped her fend off the first three, but Badosa converted her fourth chance with a crosscourt winner.

Haddad Maia staved off the first five break points she faced in the second set, but Badosa achieved success by firing a backhand winner down the line to break for 6-5. Badosa then converted her second match point in the next game to close out the lengthy clash.

Kasatkina awaits: Earlier on Thursday, Kasatkina took 1 hour and 32 minutes to topple two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova and level their head-to-head at one win apiece.

Kvitova had defeated Kasatkina handily in their only prior encounter, which the Czech won 6-4, 6-0 on the clay courts of Madrid in 2018. But this time around, it was Kasatkina who played the more composed match, converting five of her ten break points to seal the win.

There were six service breaks in the first set, but Kasatkina had only six unforced errors in the opener, while Kvitova was undone by 27 unforced errors. In the second set, Kvitova rebounded to claim the first break for a 4-3 lead, but Kasatkina immediately broke back at love.

Kvitova's powerful groundstrokes erased two match points at 6-5, but Kasatkina leapt to a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak to earn three more chances. Kasatkina only needed the first of that trio as Kvitova sent a forehand wide to close out the match.

"It was a hurricane inside after losing the [6-5] game, after being just one point away from the win," Kasatkina said on court afterwards. "But I knew with Petra it doesn't matter the score, you have to always be ready for everything, because she's fighting until the end and she's very aggressive.

"You get a few winners [by Kvitova] and she's back. So I'm really happy with my performance, the way I was able to keep my focus with the tiebreak, of course."