TENNIS in DEPTH.

Francesca Schiavone, the No.5 seed, was the second player into the semifinals, outlasting Kaia Kanepi in a tight three-setter, 75 46 75. Schiavone missed a crosscourt backhand on her first match point at 5-4 but closed the match out two games later, finishing it on a big serve that drew a Kanepi return into the net. The marathon match lasted three hours and nine minutes.

Victoria Azarenka, seeded No.8, ended the run of American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe, winning five consecutive games from 1-2 in the first set and six straight from 0-1 in the second set for a 62 61 win. Azarenka has now gone one round better than in her debut appearance here last year, where she was a quarterfinalist. “I played her in an exhibition match in the summer, so I knew a little bit about her,” Azarenka said of Vandeweghe. “She has a big serve, plus she had won a lot of matches here, so I knew it would be tough. My game plan worked well today. She started very well in the beginning but I was able to focus and be aggressive and I’m really excited to be in my first semifinal here in Tokyo.” Vandeweghe, just 18 and ranked No.172, was playing her second career quarterfinal, having made it to the final eight at San Diego in the summer. She had upset No.14 seed Aravane Rezai en route to her match-up with Azarenka.

Bookmark It