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Dayana Yastremska extended her determined run at the Lyon Open into the semi-finals with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Jasmine Paolini in the quarters on Friday. The Ukrainian needed an hour and 41 minutes to wrap up her victory. Yastremska won only 62% of her first-serve points to the fifth seed’s 70% but she did significantly better when it came to winning points off her second serves – 51% to the Italian’s 35%.
Yastremska saved four of the eight break points she faced while converting five of the 10 break points that came her way on her opponent’s serve.
Lyon Open: Dayana Yastremska's mental fortitude shines through
While not happy about how her game unfolded despite the win, Yastremska said she fought harder because of how her life changed in the last few days.
“With everything I've been through, I have to push myself and fight to the end. That's what I was thinking about in the moments it was pretty tight, or when I felt really tired or a bit stressed. Every match I play here is nothing to lose.
I'm giving everything I have. When I arrived here, I was very tired, emotionally and mentally, so now with every win I get those emotions and that energy back,” she said. For a place in the final, Yastremska will now take on second seed Sorana Cirstea.
The Romanian defeated Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-3 in their quarter-final. Cirstea won 54% of her first-serve points to the Hungarian’s 51% and 57% of her second-serve points to the latter’s 30%. She saved three of the six break points she faced while securing six service breaks for herself on Bondar’s serve across the one-hour-24-minute-long encounter.
At the top of the Lyon Open draw, Caroline Garcia and Shuai Zhang will vie for a place in the final. The Frenchwoman came from a set down to oust seventh seed Alison Van Uytvanck, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 33 minutes.
This is Garcia’s first semi-final since reaching the Lausanne Open semis in July 2021. Meanwhile, the eighth-seeded Zhang advanced to the semis after her opponent, Vitalia Diatchenko retired mid-match while down 0-3 in the first set. Photo Credit: Lyon Open Twitter