The Copa Claro Colsanitas tennis tournament, the WTA Tour stop in Bogota, Colombia, has arrived at the final four: the semifinals. That’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks.
We had a mixed day of action as we ended up going 2-1 with our tennis picks. We had Kiki Bertens from one of our holdover picks as her match had been delayed. She had no problems getting by Cindy Burger in straight sets. With our other tennis picks, we went 1-1. We squeaked one out with Sara Sorribes, who beat out Magda Linnette in the tiebreaker in the third set. Our lone loss came with Sara Errani. She couldn’t get the job done against Johanna Larsson. She ended up losing in straight sets.
Looking ahead to Friday, there is one Spaniard assured of making the final while Europeans lock horns in the other semifinal clash. Every remaining player has managed to put in a substantial week of tennis and sharpen clay-court instincts for future weeks. Now the focus becomes winning two more matches and a championship in South America. Here is a look at our tennis picks for Friday.
Johanna Larsson vs. Francesca Schiavone
Multiple Francesca Schiavone needed just 75 minutes to knock out top seeded Kiki Bertens and book her Claro Open Colsanitas semifinal spot. The 36-year-old tour veteran, who is in to her last season as a tennis professional somewhat has a point to prove to the Italian federation, who have denied her of the wildcard in her own home tourney in Rome. Playing with a dodgy shoulder, Schiavone didn’t look great in the first set but was inspired to put up a spirited performance.
It was unfortunate for Bertens, who was playing the second match of the day after defeating Cindy Burger in the rain affected second round clash. Bertens served poorly making five double faults and dropping serve three times allowing the Italian to win six games on the bounce in the first set. In the second set, Schiavone broke Bertens early for 2-1 and maintained the lead to clinch the second set 6-4 and make her first semifinal of the season.
Schiavone next faces Johanna Larsson, who defeated Sara Errani in in the other quarterfinal. It was a tight contest with two close sets, where Larsson had to save a set point. Larsson is the No. 3 seed and also the highest seed remaining in the draw. It won’t be easy for Schiavone to beat another top seeded player, but she has punched above her weight all career. Take Schiavone with your tennis picks.
Pick: Schiavone in three sets
Lara Arruabarrena vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo
Lara Arruabarrena survived an almighty scare against Alexandra Krunic, edging past the Serb in a three-set match that lasted just over two and a half hours. Arruabarrena displayed the true spirit of a Spaniard, showcasing mental toughness and superior physical fitness in overcoming her spirited opponent. The 2012 champion at this tournament returns to the last four for the second straight season after falling to eventual champion Irina Falconi in 2016. This match was a typical clay court brawl — it had it all from brutal rallies to magical shotmaking in an attritional match requiring patient point construction.
Arruabarrena will take on Sara Sorribes Tormo in an all-Spanish semifinal after the latter survived an epic encounter to upset the No. 5 seed Magda Linette.
After the close opening sets were split, Sorribes Tormo was slightly better and more fortunate than Linette in a topsy-turvy final set, which saw eight breaks of serve and a nail-bitting tiebreak which was won by the minimum allowable amount of points: two (7-5). Sorribes Tormo prevailed after two hours and 48 minutes of grueling competition. It could’ve gone either way but the Spaniard was lucky on this occasion. It’s guaranteed that a Spaniard will be in the finals. Which one will it be? Arruabarrena more steadily moved through her third set in her quarterfinal victory. She isn’t as physically or mentally taxed. That’s a small but genuine element working in her favor. Go with Arruabarrena with your tennis picks.
Pick: Arruabarrena in three sets
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