Second-seeded Paula Badosa has beaten Coco Gauff 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic to reach her fourth semi-final of the year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Badosa won nine straight points while Gauff struggled with her serve, and led 2-0 in the second set before easing to a 5-1 lead.
Gauff had six double-faults in the first set, including the final two points.
"It's never easy to start against such an aggressive player with a big serve," Badosa said.
Badosa will play No.7 seed Daria Kasatkina for a place in the final.
Kasatkina, a 2021 finalist, recovered to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 4-6 7-5 6-0 in two hours, 23 minutes.
Sabalenka, who was affected by an injury late in the match, had 22 double-faults.
The other semi-final will feature No.9 seed Veronika Kudermetova against unseeded Shelby Rogers.
Kudermetova took the opening three games of the second set and led 5-1 before holding off No.3 seed Ons Jabeur 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Rogers topped fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-4 improving her head-to-head record to 3-0.
Australian Associated Press
