SINGLES semi-finals are set for Saturday’s action at the Mildura International Tennis Pro Tour event, with another scorching day predicted.
Both brackets are down to the final four at Mildura Lawn Tennis Club after Friday’s quarter finals, with men’s top two seeds Omar Jasika and Blake Ellis set to face Dane Sweeny and Pavle Marinkov, respectively.
Meanwhile, women’s number one seed Lizette Cabrera is slated to face Japan’s Sakura Hosogi, and emerging Laquisa Khan set to battle Chihiro Muramatsu.
Men’s top seed Omar Jasika held on to defeat last week’s Victorian grass court champion Josh Charlton on Friday in a tough three-setter, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3.
The 27-year-old from Melbourne was pushed all the way by Charlton, forced into winning the second set 9-7 in a tie-break, but his talent shone through to win four of the final five games in third set.
Penrith-born Sweeny survived early heat from USA third seed Christian Langmo to claim a 7-6, 6-3 victory.
Despite the American nailing two aces in the opening game, Sweeny’s 46 points won on first serve, compared to 32, and ensured he went on to win the first-set tie break 7-3 and claim match honours in just under two hours.
Langmo wasted no time by firing an ace on the very first serve and another a few points later to take the early initiative.
Rising 19-year-old Marinkov continued his brilliant week by taking down another seeded player, this time big serving sixth seed Jake Delaney 7-6, 3-6 6-3 in two-and-a-half hours.
Despite Delaney nailing a whopping 21 aces for the match, Marinkov won the opening set tie-break and held firm after losing the second set to march out to a 4-1 third set lead, eventually grabbing the points.
Ellis was able to win in relatively quick time, defeating New Zealand Davis Cup team member and eight seed Alexander Klintcharov 6-2, 7-5 in under 90 minutes.
After an even start to the match, Ellis claimed four consecutive games to grab the first set before continuing the momentum in the second.
Muramatsu is through to her first ITF tournament semi-final in over three years after a marathon come from behind win over second seed Elena Micic 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.
After each player recovered from a deficit to win either of the first two sets, the left-hander from Kofu, Japan, hit her straps in the final set to take victory in three hours and seven minutes.
Khan is three to the semi-finals after a hard-fought victory over Alicia Smith, who won last week’s Victorian Grasscourt Championships at the same venue.
The 22-year-old from Lismore blasted 13 aces on the way to winning 6-3, 7-6, however a tough second set against Smith forced the match into a long tie-break, which required a 10-8 win.
Hosogi set up a rematch with Cabrera from the recent Launceston International final, which the Aussie won, rebounded from being a set down and two games from defeat to record a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over New Zealand’s Monique Barry.
At 3-3 in the third set, Hosogi earned the vital break which ultimately led to her victory and another head-to-head with the number one seed.
Early in Friday’s play Cabrera wasted little time in defeating Ayumi Miyamoto, one of three Japanese players to reach the quarter finals.
The 27-year-old Aussie claimed a 6-3, 6-1 victory in just over an hour, powering through with six aces, including four in the first set to establish her dominance.
Singles semi-finals will be played on Saturday, alongside men’s and women’s double finals.
