Acapulco, March 2: Top seed and US Open champion Sloane Stephens was upstaged by world number 183 Stefanie Voegele, who surprisingly reached the Mexican Open semi-finals.
Voegele played above her ranking as she stunned American star Stephens 6-4 5-7 6-2 in Acapulco on Thursday (March 1).
The 27-year-old Swiss – seeking her first WTA Tour-level final appearance – traded breaks with 2016 Acapulco champion Stephens in the opening set before claiming the decisive break in the final game.
Stephens responded in the second despite surrendering a 3-1 lead as she reeled off three successive games to force a deciding set.
But Voegele was not to be denied her first top-20 victory since 2013, dropping just two points in four games to book a final-four berth thanks to her fourth win in five matches against Stephens.
Stefanie Voegele advances to the @AbiertoTelcel semifinals!
The Swiss defeats No. 1 seed Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/btjqnyfxlb
— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2018
Next up is Rebecca Peterson, who crushed fourth seed Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-1.
Defending champion Lesia Tsurenko cruised through to the semis after blitzing second seed Kristina Mladenovic.
In a rematch of last year's decider, Ukrainian seventh seed Tsurenko was too good in a 6-2 6-2 victory on the Mexican hard courts.
.@LTsurenko sets up an @AbiertoTelcel semifinal vs. @Daria_Gav!
The defending champion breezes past Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/QpJt92rgoV
— WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2018
Standing in the way of Tsurenko and back-to-back appearances in the final is Australia's Daria Gavrilova.
Gavrilova – the third seed – outlasted Veronica Cepede Royg 6-4 4-6 6-2.
Source: OPTA
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