No. 6 seed Marta Kostyuk is having a great tournament in Cluj: she only won in straight sets so far, and she reached her third semifinal this season, after Abu Dhabi (WTA 500) and Istanbul (WTA 250).
The QF duel of generation 2002 ended with Marta’s steady win, 6-2, 6-1 against no. 3 seed Emma Raducanu. This is one of Marta’s most significant victories so far, as her game was almost flawless. Emma didn’t succeed in playing her best tennis this time. The Brit ended with no less than 41 unforced errors, while the Ukrainian had only 16.
„I don’t know how I took the first game, but I think that’s where it all started. It gave me a lot of confidence, and I felt as I couldn’t lose this match. In game five I started to realize better and better how to play against her. Because maybe next time I will choose different tactics”, Marta said after the match.
So Emma Raducanu’s route in Cluj ended in the quarterfinals. The experience she gathered here might be important though: she got her first WTA tour win, reached her first WTA QF and thus got to know the circuit better. Despite her new status – which is that of a future star –, we must not forget that she only played five WTA tournaments so far.
Going back to Marta, she has to overcome no. 1 seed Simona Halep if she wants to play her first final this year. This will be their second match; recently, in Indian Wells, Simona won in straight sets: 7-6, 6-1.
