Ponchet Rallies from Set Down to Beat Golubic in Saint-Malo Quarters, Faces Uchijima for Final Spot

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On Friday, the quarterfinals of the Saint-Malo WTA 125 took place. The only Frenchwoman still in contention in this tournament, Jessika Ponchet faced Viktorija Golubic, world No. 81.

The latter, who had beaten returning Clara Burel in the first round (the latter playing her first official competitive match since tearing her ACL a year ago), entered as the favorite in this matchup.

Ponchet, currently WTA No. 196, had on her side benefited from the retirement of her compatriot Fiona Ferro, champion in Oeiras last week, before eliminating lucky loser Yasmine Kabbaj of Morocco (who had beaten Diane Parry in the first round).

Ponchet Comes from Behind to Beat Golubic in Saint-Malo Quarterfinals

Trailing a set against the Swisswoman in the quarterfinals, the 29-year-old ultimately prevailed in three sets (4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in 2h54). For a spot in the final, Ponchet will face Moyuka Uchijima, who reached the quarterfinals of the Madrid WTA 1000 last year against Elina Svitolina.

World No. 94, who had ousted Ksenia Efremova in her opener, dominated Sofia Costoulas (6-4, 6-1 in 1h22). The other semifinal clash is mouthwatering, pitting young Czech Tereza Valentova (world No. 51 and tournament No. 1 seed) against Anna Blinkova (No. 5 seed). They respectively defeated Lilli Tagger (7-5, 7-5 in 2h32) and Yuan Yue (6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in 2h43).