World No. 5 Sofia Kenin edged past France’s Oceane Dodin in the Open 6eme Sens-Metropole de Lyon semifinals on Friday.
The reigning Australian Open champion beat World No. 130 Dodin 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash with either France’s Caroline Garcia or Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, who play later on Friday.
No. 1 seed Kenin raced to a one-set lead in the opening set, breaking Dodin’s serve three times, before losing in a second-set tiebreaker. The American collapsed from a 5-1 lead in the tiebreaker to lose the set 7-6(5).
Dodin kept her hopes for an upset alive in the third set when she broke Kenin’s serve to level the match again. But the American quickly dispatched Dodin after that, easing the remainder of the match to reach the semifinals.
Kenin, 21, is chasing her fifth career WTA-singles victory — it would be her first since winning her first Grand Slam in Melbourne in January.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam rallied from a set down to beat Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 to set up a semifinal clash against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina.
Kasatkina defeated Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, to book her place in the final four.