England's EASTBOURNE (AP) — Before Wimbledon, Beatriz Haddad Maia received assistance in her quest for a third consecutive grass-court victory.
After her opponent, Lesia Tsurenko, withdrew due to a right elbow injury on Thursday, the Brazilian advanced to the semifinals at Eastbound without ever hitting a ball.
Haddad Maia, who recently won titles in Nottingham and Birmingham, will be at her best when she takes on Petra Kvitova in the semifinals on Friday. Before this short grass-court season, which was going better than she could have ever hoped, she had never won a WTA championship.
Jelena Ostapenko, the defending champion, and Camila Giorgi, the 12th-seeded player, both won in straight sets, will face off in the other semifinal.
In the men's competition, British wild card Jack Draper defeated fellow countryman Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-3 to get to his first ATP quarterfinal. By eliminating home favorite Cameron Norrie, the top-seeded player, 7-5, 7-5, American Maxime Cressy made sure there wouldn't be another all-British encounter in the semifinals.
Alex de Minaur, the defending champion, will play Fritz after he overcame Tommy Paul 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Serena Williams' participation in the women's doubles as part of her comeback from a year away from tennis has drawn much attention this week in Eastbound.
Williams and Ons Jabeur, however,
Jabeur's right knee issue forced her to withdraw from the competition on Thursday, according to the WTA. After winning two games on the south coast of England, they were slated to face Magda Linette and Aleksandra Krunic in the semifinals.
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