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St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy: 2018 semifinals are set

By Harry Floyd

BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 06: Daria Kasatkina of Russia in action during the Women's singles Quarterfinals match against Simona Halep of Romania on day seven of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 6, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 06: Daria Kasatkina of Russia in action during the Women's singles Quarterfinals match against Simona Halep of Romania on day seven of 2017 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 6, 2017 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy action is into the semifinals this week. Here’s a look at the upcoming matchups leading into the finals.

This week’s top seed Caroline Wozniacki is out of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. She falls to Daria Kasatkina in straight sets despite a hard-fought effort. Wozniacki won her first match in Saint Petersburg in straight sets before falling in the quarterfinals. She is fresh of her Grand Slam win at the 2018 Australian Open.

Kasatkina moves on and faces defending champion Kristina Mladenovic next in the semifinals. Mladenovic is the WTA Tour event’s fourth seed this year and Kasatkina is the eighth seed.

The second semifinals meeting pits fifth seeded Julia Görges up against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The Czech tennis star is coming off of a fantastic 6-0, 6-2 win over Jelena Ostapenko. The reigning French Open champion was the second seed this week.

The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy title is up for grabs.

Anything can happen in the semifinals this weekend. While Kvitova is the only unseeded player still alive, she is without a doubt the most accomplished of the bunch. After stepping away from the sport for several months following an injury from a home invasion, Kvitova is looking to have a huge impact on the 2018 WTA Tour.

Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

Despite the quarterfinals loss, the outing is a good followup to the Australian Open for Caroline Wozniacki.

After her incredible run at Melbourne Park, there is no doubt that Wozniacki is one of the best in the sport. She is once again the world No. 1 on the WTA Tour. Her performance this January, however, would be difficult for anyone to replicate right away. A win and a loss at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy is a solid followup showing to her Australian Open win. Action in Saint Petersburg continues tomorrow and should take us into a thrilling finals meeting.

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