HOBART, Australia (AP)—Qualifier Mona Barthel beat defending champion Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to move into the semifinals at the Hobart International.
Barthel ousted second-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round and will next meet fellow German Angelique Kerber, who advanced with a 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
Kerber finished with a year-end No. 32 ranking after reaching the U.S. Open semifinals.
Top-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Simona Halep of Romania and will next play sixth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel.
Peer advanced when Anna Chakvetadze had to retire from their semifinal in the third set because of cramping. Chakvetadze won the first set 6-4, but lost the second 6-4 and needed treatment at the break. She quit when she was down 1-0 in the third.