Bartůňková and Andreeva Set Beijing Semifinal

Nikola Bartůňková needed just 67 minutes to dismantle #7 Karolína Muchová 6-3, 6-0 at the China Open, reaching the first WTA 1000 semifinal of her career and extending the best week the 20-year-old Czech has ever played. Her opponent will be #4 Mirra Andreeva, who beat #19 Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in the later quarterfinal for her first win in three meetings with the Russian.

Bartůňková, seeded #26, won the first five games of the all-Czech quarterfinal. She broke twice with aggressive returning and kept Muchová off balance with drop shots, volleys and early attacks, the same kind of variety that took Muchová to a Roland Garros final. Muchová found a foothold at 5-0, saving five set points and winning three straight games, but Bartůňková converted her sixth chance to take the set and then gave up nothing more. She won the last seven games of the match and finished with 19 winners against 15 unforced errors. Muchová hit 12 winners and made 37 unforced errors.