The top-seeded team of Marta Kostyuk and Osakana Kalashnikova take on the team of Anna Blinkova and Anastasia Detiuc in the semifinals of the Open de Limoges on Thursday.
The Georgian-Ukrainian duo teamed up at the Transylvania Open in October. This was their most recent campaign prior to Limoges. They were ousted in the round of 16 by Dalma Galfi and Anna Bondar.
In the round of 16 in Limoges, Kostyuk and Kalashnikova faced the French duo of Marine Partaud and Elixane Lechemia. Kostyuk and Kalashnikova won the first set but the Frenchwomen came back strongly to take the second set. The decisive third set went the way of Kostyuk and Kalashnikova as they won the match 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 10-4. However, the duo accumulated a total of 7 double faults and it could have proved to be decisive in the end. They would hope to serve better in the semis.
Interestingly, Detiuc partnered with Kalashnikova at the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open. However, that didn’t work wonders as the team was ousted in the quarterfinals as they lost to eventual champion Alycia Parks and Zhang Shuai.
Blinkova and Detiuc began their campaign at Limoges against the team of Julia Lohoff and Alena Fomina-Klotz. Detiuc and Blinkova made light work of their opponents as they picked up a victory in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. They were the better team in all facets of the game and deservingly find themselves in the semis.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two teams have not faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Anastasia Detiuc and Anna Blinkova to win in three sets.
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