Lin Zhu of China saved four of five break points and toppled No. 1 seed Caroline Garcia of France 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of Tennis in the Land on Thursday in Cleveland.
Zhu absorbed Garcia’s eight aces and converted five of her 10 opportunities to break Garcia’s serve, including three times in the second set.
In the semifinals, Zhu will face fourth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia, who rallied to beat China’s Xinyu Wang 5-7, 6-0, 7-5 on Thursday.
No. 9 seed Sloane Stephens also bowed out in the quarterfinals, as Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain won 6-1, 6-3 in just 73 minutes. Earlier in the day, Stephens completed a 6-3, 6-3 Round of 16 win over Russia’s Mirra Andreeva that was delayed from Wednesday due to thunderstorms.
Sorribes Tormo’s semifinal opponent will be Tatjana Maria of Germany. Maria eased past Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-2, winning 20 of 26 first-service points (76.9 percent) and converting five of seven break-point chances.
–Field Level Media