Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

The old saying in the South is, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around for a few minutes and it will change.” That can also sometimes be said about women’s tennis. If you didn’t like the result of the first set, stick around and it will change in the second set. Such was the case with all four of the quarterfinals on Friday.

Anna Tatishvili and Julia Glushko squared off in semifinal No. 1 and Tatishvili raced out to a 5-0 lead behind scathing down-the-line backhands and opportunistic net play. She closed out the set 6-1, but Glushko found the mark in the second set and she jumped out to 5-2 lead before Tatishvili found the mark to force a tiebreak. The American then revved up her forehand to keep Glushko well behind the baseline and take the breaker to earn a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.

23-year old, Lesley Kerkhove of The Netherlands was the next to rebound from a bad opening set. Taking on No. 6 seed, Cagla Buyukakcay of Turkey, Kerkhove found her groove in the second and third sets to move on to Saturday play. Kerkhove defeated tournament No. 2 seed, Naomi Broady of Great Britain on Thursday.

“Well, I just keep fighting,” Kerkhove admitted after the match. “I do what’s best for me and I start playing more aggressive and win the second set and then the third.”

Kerkhove has been in the U.S. for five weeks this fall and Macon has been her best result.

“This hasn’t been a good trip for me, I’ve lost in the first and second rounds, so to end this trip it’s good to end with some good wins. It’s nice here, of course it’s always nice when you win.”

In another one of Macon’s patented long matches, Julia Boserup outlasted fellow American, Nicole Gibbs 6-3 6-7(3) 7-5 in a 3 hr. and 19 min. match where Gibbs saved 11 match points before succumbing to Boserup. Gibbs and Boserup had played twice before, with each claiming a victory.

Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson stormed back after losing the first set in the fourth quarterfinal to defeat former UCLA player, Jennifer Brady 2-6 7-5 6-1.

Singles matches on Saturday will start at 11 a.m. and the doubles semis and final are scheduled to follow.

More great weather in Macon on Friday meant another day of great matches at the USTA Pro Circuit event taking place October 25 – November 1, 2015.

The W.L. Amos Sr. Foundation is the primary sponsor of this 50K event  where U.S. players can earn points for the USTA’s wildcard into the 2016 Australian Open.

Friday’s results:

Lesley KERKHOVE (NED) def. Cagla BUYUKAKCAY (TUR) [8] 2-6 6-3 6-2
Anna TATISHVILI (USA) [1] def. Julia GLUSHKO (ISR) [6] 6-1 7-6(2)
Rebecca PETERSON (SWE) [5] def. Jennifer BRADY (USA) 2-6 7-5 6-1
Julia BOSERUP (USA) def. Nicole GIBBS (USA) [4] 6-3 6-7(3) 7-5

Veronica CEPEDE ROYG (PAR) [2] / Maria IRIGOYEN def.  Michelle SAMMONS (RSA) / Chanel SIMMONS 6-3 6-1
Florencia MOLINERO (ARG) / Nina STOJANOVIC (SRB) Elitsa KOSTOVA (BUL) / Paula ORMAECHEA 6-4 6-1
Sophie CHANG (USA) / Lesley KERKHOVE (NED) def. Julia GLUSHKO (ISR) / Rebecca PETERSON 6-4 6-4
Jan ABAZA (USA) [4] / Viktorija GOLUBIC (SUI) Jacqueline CAKO (USA) / Sachia VICKERY  6-2 6-2
Jan ABAZA (USA) [4] / Viktorija GOLUBIC (SUI) Jennifer BRADY (USA) / Alexa GUARACHI  6-4 6-4
Paula Cristina GONCALVES (BRA) / Sanaz MARAND (USA) Florencia MOLINERO (ARG) / Nina STOJANOVIC 6-2 6-2
Julia BOSERUP (USA) / Naomi BROADY (GBR) Diana MARCINKEVICA (LAT) / Renata ZARAZUA 6-1 6-1
Sophie CHANG (USA) / Lesley KERKHOVE (NED) Julia BOSERUP (USA) / Naomi BROADY 6-3 1-6 [10-3]

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.