The ever-improving Clara Tauson takes on Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the semifinals of the Open de Limoges on Friday.
The 19-year-old has reached her third semifinal this season. She made it to the semis in an ITF event in France in October but was forced to retire mid-match owing to an injury. Tauson made it to another semifinal at the ITF event in Italy in November and on that occasion, she went on to win the title.
Tauson began her campaign with a gritty win against the experienced Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic. The match ended in straight sets 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) but the scoreline doesn’t indicate the amount of hard work that the Danish youngster had to put in. Tauson went on to defeat Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16. The 8th seed fought well in the first set but Tauson came up trumps in the tiebreak. The second set was won much more comfortably by Tauson as the match ended 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Tauson played Varvara Gracheva in the quarterfinals. After dropping the first set, Tauson came back brilliantly to win the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. A win for Tauson in the semis will take her into the top 100 in the WTA rankings.
The sixth seed has made a sensational comeback in this tournament after coming to Limoges with a 7-match losing streak. The 24-year-old has reached her fifth semifinal in 2022 and has a 3-1 record this season in the semis.
Bronzetti faced Jodie Anna Burrage in her first match in Limoges. The former picked up a win in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 and she was aided by a self-destructive Burrage who committed 8 double faults. Bronzetti performed exceedingly well against Jana Fett in the round of 16 to win the match 6-4, 6-2. The Italian youngster came from a set down to defeat Clara Burel 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the quarterfinals to book her place in the semis.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Clara Tauson to win in three sets.
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