WTA Guadalajara: Caroline Garcia downs Victoria Azarenka to reach semis, Sofia Kenin beats Leylah Fernandez

France’s Caroline Garcia overpowered Victoria Azarenka in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 Guadalajara Open on Thursday. Third seed Garcia was always in control against her 10th-seeded opponent from Belarus, winning 6-3, 6-4 in 1hr 37min. The 29-year-old Frenchwoman will face either Greece’s Maria Sakkari or Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in the last four on Friday. Garcia, who is chasing the 12th title of her career, used her powerful serve to gain the upper hand on Azarenka, slamming down 10 aces during the match. Garcia was also able to save no fewer than 11 break points to deny Azarenka any chance of an opening. The win ensured that Garcia, the world number 11, will move into the top 10 at the end of this tournament. In other quarter-final action on Thursday, Sofia Kenin’s recent resurgence continued as she overpowered 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 to reach the last four. Former Australian Open champion Kenin, who also reached the semi-finals in San Diego last week, will face either unseeded Italian Martina Trevisan or Caroline Dolehide in the last four on Friday. Kenin, 24, has gradually worked her way back up the rankings after tumbling to 426th in the world last year following a slew of injuries and upheaval in her coaching set-up. However she has won 14 of her last 17 matches on the WTA Tour since July, and is poised to climb back into the top 30 after this tournament. On Thursday she secured her latest semi-final berth the hard way, advancing despite coughing up 14 double faults while Fernandez racked up 15 aces. “Leylah played great,” Kenin said in her on-court interview. “She started off really well in the second, and I almost came back, almost won it. I was kind of frustrated that I lost it, but she’s a fighter, so I knew I needed to cool off and fight in the third.”