MDP Live - Anett Kontaveit claimed a second win over Ons Jabeur after they met in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Sydney International, but in a way he probably didn't expect.
The fourth seed secured a place in the semi-finals of the Sydney International when seventh seed Jabeur decided to withdraw from the match with a lower back injury as the score was 6-4 over the fourth seed.
After almost an hour on the court, Tunisian Jabeur asked for a break for medical reasons after the first set was over and tried to start the second. After making one serve and one first serve error, she walked towards the net and ended the match by hugging the Estonian.
"I really hope Ons will be fine for next week's tournament and nothing is too serious," Kontaveit said.
"The first set was really competitive and we've had some tough matches before, but it always ends up taking the lead. I'm really happy to have won that set and that I played the way I wanted to."
The fourth seed, who lost to a seventh seed twice last season, won the last three games en route to a first set victory that lasted 51 minutes.
Aiming to advance to a fourth successive final, Kontaveit will face third seed Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals of the Sydney International. The two players last met two months ago, in the WTA Finals, Guadalajara, where the fourth seed beat the third seed 6-3, 6-4 in the group stages.
"It will definitely be a tough match. He played brilliantly. She has bagged an impressive win," Krejcikova said.
"This season has just started. The last time we met was at the end of last season. The conditions are different, of course.”
"I'm really looking forward to challenging another top 10 player. I'm happy to be able to put myself in this situation, have an amazing game and spend some quality time on the pitch."
Czech Krejcikova did not experience much drama in the 68-minute match as she won 6-0, 6-2 over Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.
World number 4 Krejcikova has lost just eight games of her two wins at the 2022 Sydney International. Garcia gained momentum in the second set, including creating break point chances to make it 3-3, but missed and lost the final three games.
