WTA roundup: Top 3 seeds reach Hong Kong semifinals

HONG KONG: Top seed Diana Shnaider outlasted Suzan Lamens 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-2 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Russia's Shnaider converted nine of 11 break points against her Dutch opponent in the 1-hour, 52-minute victory, setting up a meeting with No. 3 Leylah Fernandez of Canada. Fernandez fired eight aces in a 6-1, 7-6 (7) defeat of No. 9 Bernarda Pera.

Second-seeded Katie Boulter of Great Britain dispatched Russia's Anastasia Zakharova 6-4, 6-0 in 75 minutes and will meet No. 6 Yue Yuan of China, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Sofia Kenin.

Jiangxi Open

Top-seeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic rolled into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against No. 5 seed Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia in Jiujiang, China.

Bouzkova won 90 percent (26 of 29) of the points on her first serve and never faced a break point. She next faces unseeded Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland, who posted a marathon 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (5) victory over No. 6 Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands in 3 hours and 24 minutes.

The other semifinal pits No. 2 Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia against Germany's Laura Siegemund. Sramkova held off Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 and Siegemund ousted Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-2.

Merida Open Akron

Alina Korneeva, a 17-year-old Russian, won two matches on Friday in Merida, Mexico, and advanced to the semifinals.

First, Korneeva beat Russian compatriot Anna Blinkova, the fifth seed, 7-5, 6-2 in a matchup postponed from Thursday night. Then she got past Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.

Her next opponent is another player making her first WTA Tour semifinal appearance, Zeynep Sonmez. The 22-year-old Turkey native upset top-seeded Renata Zarazua of Mexico 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The other semifinal will feature Russia's Polina Kudermetova, who rallied past Serbia's Nina Stojanovic 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, and the United States' Ann Li, who routed Switzerland's Jil Teichmann 6-1, 6-1.