Putintseva tops Friedsam in 3-hour match to reach Nuremberg Cup semis
NUREMBERG, Germany (AP) Top-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan won the longest match of the WTA Tour season so far, overcoming Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) on Thursday to reach the Nuremberg Cup semifinals.
Putintseva converted her first match point in a match that lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes against Friedsam, who is ranked No. 523 after recovering from a shoulder injury.
Putintseva, who is bidding for her first WTA singles title, will face Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals after the Romanian player defeated Serbian qualifier Nina Stojanovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. It will be Cirstea's second semifinal in three years at the clay-court tournament.
American Madison Brengle faced second-seeded Katerina Siniakova and Veronika Kudermetova was to play Tamara Zidansek in the other quarterfinals.
---
More AP Tennis: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
HEADLINES
- Nadal cruises past American teen in 1st round of Madrid Open
- Nadal says he's not fully fit, unsure about playing French Open
- French Open to inaugurate 2nd retractable roof ahead of Paris Olympics
- Brian Tobin, former ITF president, dies at 93
- Alcaraz 'happy to play 3 or 4 matches' in return at Madrid Open