No. 1 Sabalenka cruises into Stuttgart semis; Paolini takes down Gauff

Aryna Sabalenka's long wait is over -- she has at last played (and won) a match at the 2025 edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Stuttgart: Draws | Scores | Order of play

After making it into the quarterfinals without striking a ball, World No. 1 Sabalenka bested her former doubles partner Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-1 in their quarterfinal encounter on Saturday night in Stuttgart.

"Finally I played my match," Sabalenka said, after her win. "Never happened before that I play the first match on Saturday. ... Happy with the variety of the game I brought today on the court. Yeah, I think it was very decent game."

Sabalenka's semifinal opponent will be No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini, who ousted No. 4 seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's nightcap quarterfinal. Sabalenka leads Paolini 4-2 in their head-to-head.

Patience is a virtue for Sabalenka: After her first-round bye, Sabalenka did not have to play in the second round because her opponent, Anastasia Potapova, withdrew from their match due to injury. Thus, Saturday evening's quarterfinal was her first match of the week.

And World No. 29 Mertens definitely tested Sabalenka's form in the first set. The Belgian was a point away from leading 5-4 and serving for the one-set advantage.

But Sabalenka was able to get through that game and take the 5-4 lead for herself. From then on, the top seed was basically unstoppable, starting with a service break to wrap up the first set.

All told, Sabalenka broke Mertens in three of the Belgian's final four service games, while the World No. 1 also peaked behind her own delivery. Sabalenka won her last two service games at love.

"I had a week to practice on these courts, so I felt pretty comfortable," Sabalenka said. "Also, I played here so many times, so I know the courts and I feel really good on this surface. So I think it was about just playing the first match on clay, get used to the game, not over-rush things."

Sabalenka is now 9-2 in singles against Mertens, a player she has made Grand Slam history with. Sabalenka and Mertens teamed up to win doubles titles at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.

Sabalenka will be trying to make her fourth Stuttgart final in a five-year span. She finished as runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2023 -- but has yet to win the title.

Paolini ousts Gauff to complete Stuttgart semifinal lineup

Paolini beats Gauff for first time: In the day's last quarterfinal, Italy's Paolini took 1 hour and 28 minutes to garner her first victory over American Gauff in their three career meetings.

The match started rosy for Gauff, with her blistering returns leading to a break at love in the opening game. But Paolini spread the court impressively as the match wore on, and she got back on serve at 4-4.

Serving down 5-4, Gauff posted a game that was the distinct opposite of her first game of the match. The American hit two straight double faults to give Paolini triple set point, and Gauff dropped serve at love after a backhand miscue.

But Paolini was going to be difficult to beat on Saturday regardless. She fired 20 winners in the match -- eight more than Gauff -- and was nearly flawless when she came into the net, en route to her first Top 10 win of the year.

More to come...

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