The seemingly unstoppable Alycia Parks faces France’s Jessika Ponchet in the semifinals of the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open on Saturday.
The American youngster has powered her way into the semifinals of the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open and is certainly the favorite to go the distance. She has made it to the semifinals in three successive tournaments and is currently on an 8-match winning streak.
Parks began her campaign with authority as she destroyed top seed Zhang Shuai in the round of 32 in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. The big-serving youngster delivered a professional performance in the round of 16 against Jaqueline Cristian. Parks won the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Parks squared off against another in-form player in Marketa Vondrousova. The first set was dominated by Parks as she won 6-1. Vondrousova fought hard in the second set but Parks eventually dug deep to win the match 6-1, 7-6 (7-3).
The 26-year-old has reached her fifth semifinal this year. She has won two titles this year in ITF events in France and Spain. She didn’t come into the tournament on the back of great form as she was ousted in the first round in the WTA Andorra Open. However, Ponchet has managed to make the finals with some gritty performances.
Ponchet’s campaign in Angers began with a hard-fought victory against Katarina Zavatska 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3). She followed it up with a relatively comfortable win against Greet Minnen in straight sets 7-5, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, she faced fellow Frenchwoman Clara Burel. The former junior world No. 1 was the favorite going into the match. However, Ponchet managed to overcome the odds in fine fashion and defeated Burel in straight sets 7-5, 6-1.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Alycia Parks to win in straight sets.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates