The women’s competition has reached the last four, and Simona Halep, the world number 7, is the clear favourite for the title and the highest ranking player left in the tournament. The Romanian needed three sets to get past her compatriot, Irina-Camelia Begu. It was the closing match of the morning session and it did not disappoint. After a solid first set that she took 6-2, Halep lost the second 6-0 and found her A-game again in the third, wrapping up the match with a 6-1. At almost the same time, Louisa Chirico was stamping her ticket to the next round. The young American maintained her form from recent days (she came through qualifying) to defeat one of the tournament’s surprise packages, Daria Gavrilova (7-6, 6-2), who ended the hopes of the defending champion, Petra Kvitova, in the previous round.

The other players to make it through are Dominika Cibulkova and Samantha Stosur. The Slovakian progressed at the cost of Sorana Cirstea after 2 hours and 5 minutes of play (4-6, 6-3, 6-3). The Romanian, however, can hold her head high having proved she was deserving of the tournament’s wildcard invitation. For her part, Stosur sent home Patricia María Tig, another player who came through qualifying – like Chirico. The Australian Grand Slam winner, who saw off Carla Suárez, took the easy route to the semis with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.

The results mean that the semi-finals line up as follows:

Stosur vs. Halep

Chirico vs. Cibulkova

Friday’s schedule is one that no true fan of the game will want to miss. If you would like to be there, the ticket offices open first thing in the morning and the online sales system is operational as always.