On Saturday, the CK Sports Centre in Kockelscheuer hosted three semi-finals matches in this year's BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open tennis tournament.
The first Singles semi-final between Mona Barthel and Stefanie Voegele was a rather lacklustre affair until the latter found herself 0-3 down in the second set and then started to play a little more aggressively. However, Mona Barthel won comfortably 6-2, 6-3.
The second Singles semi-final, between Misaki Doi and Alison Van Uytvanck, started more aggressively but Misaki Doi was able to win the first set on a break of serve. A call for the trainer from Alison Van Uytvanck to treat illness rather than injury, with her being forced to retire at the end of the first set and forefitting the match. Misaki Doi played like a tiny powerhouse running all over the court.
The second semi-final in the Doubles was a very close affair, however, with a 28-game final set going the way of the German pairing of M. Barthel and L. Siegemund.
Results
Women's Singles - Semi-finals
M. Barthel (GER) d [WC] S. Voegele (SUI) 6-2, 6-3
M. Doi (JPN) d A. Van Uytvanck (BEL) 6-4, 0-0 Retired
Women's Doubles - Semi-finals
[3] M. Barthel (GER) / L. Siegemund (GER) d [2] K. Bertens (NED) / J. Larsson (SWE) 4-6, 6-1, 15-13
Photos by Jan McIntyre: (above) Mona Barthel; (below)
