Along with her fifth consecutive win on the WTA match in Osaka, Queensland’s Kimberly Birrell has notched a profession milestone.
Osaka, Japan, 19 October 2024 | Matt Trollope
Kimberly Birrell has continued her spectacular type in Japan, transferring into the semifinals of the WTA occasion in Osaka.
Birrell, a qualifier, beat Japanese wildcard Sara Saito 7-5 6-4 to notch her fifth straight win on the 250-level hard-court match.
She recovered from 5-2 within the opening set to win 5 straight video games, then broke late within the second set earlier than serving out the match.
The journey continues 💫@kimbirrell98 is into her first profession onerous court docket semifinal after defeating Saito in Osaka!#KinoshitaJOTennis pic.twitter.com/h2PfGGFAAe
— wta (@WTA) October 18, 2024
This was the 26-year-old’s fourth look in a tour-level quarterfinal, however the first time she has progressed past that time to a singles semifinal.
There she’s going to face fellow qualifier Aoi Ito, additionally of Japan.
“This one felt good,” Birrell wrote on her Instagram story as she shared a clip of her profitable match level. “Pumped for extra tomorrow!!”
In an amazing day for Australia, Birrell’s win got here across the identical time one other Aussie, Aleksandar Vukic, superior to the ATP semifinals in Almaty, Kazakhstan with an upset win over No.1 seed Frances Tiafoe.
Osaka is a match the place the draw has opened up significantly; three of the 4 semifinalists are qualifiers, with the one seed remaining being No.7 Diana Parry of France.
The final time Birrell gained 5 straight matches was in Could this yr, when she scooped the W75 ITF title in Fukuoka.
One of many gamers she beat en path to that title was Ito, whom she faces once more on Saturday afternoon.
At the moment she was ranked world No.182, however along with her success this week in Osaka, she is projected to rise to 121st.
She peaked at world No.100 in September final yr.
Birrell improves her 2024 win-loss file to 38-25.
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