Kateryna Baindl (Twitter)
Sixth seed Kateryna Baindl locks horns with world No. 158 Diana Shnaider in the semifinals of the WTA Montevideo Open 2022 on Saturday.
The only seeded player remaining so far in the tournament has won two of her three matches after dropping the first sets. She has played in four semifinals this year and has a 3-1 record.
Baindl began her campaign in Montevideo with a sensational win against Emma Navarro. She fell behind after losing the first set but managed to dig deep to win the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. In the round of 16, Baindl defeated the talented 15-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova convincingly in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, the 28-year-old Ukrainian got the better of Clara Burel. The Frenchwoman took the first set but Baindl bounced back strongly to win the match 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The 18-year-old will be playing her ninth semifinal this season. She has a 4-4 record so far in semi-final encounters this year. The Russian teenager is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
Shnaider kickstarted her campaign with a sensational 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win against fourth-seeded Sara Errani. She followed it up with a comprehensive win against Emiliana Arango in the round of 16. The match ended 6-1, 6-4 in favor of Shnaider. Hailey Baptiste faced Shnaider in the quarterfinals. The latter used her serves to good effect as she had a win percentage of 79 compared to 62 for the American. The match ended 6-4, 6-2 as Shnaider progressed to yet another semifinal.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players will be meeting each other for the first time on Saturday.
Prediction: Diana Shnaider to win in three sets.
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