Anisimova edges defending Dubai champion Andreeva in quarters as Gauff breezes through

[p]The second-seeded American trailed the fifth-seeded Russian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andreeva-mirra/lI6fOOat/"]Andreeva[/a] by a set and a break before rallying back to complete [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/andreeva-m-lI6fOOat/anisimova-a-nwkutKbi/?mid=dMRwKQV6"]a two-hour 38-minute win[/a].[/p][p]She thereby booked a place in the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the fourth time in her career.[/p][p][b]"I was almost in tears there at the end," [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/anisimova-amanda/nwkutKbi/"]Anisimova[/a] said.[/p][p][b]"It made me emotional seeing her like that. I feel we both won today," [/b]she added.[/p][p]Anisimova next faces fellow American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a], who earlier [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/tauson-c-2PPTHPya/?mid=4nVoI40J"]beat Dane Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 6-4[/a].[/p][embed guid="1b7337cc-f12b-4754-91ad-a8d4654ec18b" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-9SLZCoQ1g" social-type="youtube" /][p]Andreeva took the first set with two breaks and leapt to a 2-0 advantage in the second set before Anisimova retaliated and clinched the next five games.[/p][p]Anisimova was broken serving for the second set, and it was Andreeva's turn to fight back as she took three games in a row to level.[/p][p]She broke again to take the quarter-final clash into a deciding set.[/p][p]Anisimova served for the match at 5-3, but Andreeva sliced and lobbed to stay alive and soon drew level.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="0e411bb0-5ebc-4074-bf75-d10f7ceddeca" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="d1338d33-e440-449e-b926-d9b32c3c464f" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Andreeva then served for the victory, but she could not close at 6-5, and the contest went to a deciding tiebreak.[/p][p]Anisimova upped her level to take the breaker and hugged a sobbing Andreeva at the net, telling her she was "amazing."[/p][h2]Gauff thrashes Eala[/h2][p]In the night session, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a] made it three Americans in the semi-finals with a merciless [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/eala-a-ppu9X7PH/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/?mid=zuLFS7Eb"]6-0, 6-2[/a] dismissal of Filipina rising star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eala-alexandra/ppu9X7PH/"]Alexandra Eala[/a].[/p][p]In front of a buoyant Filipino-majority crowd, Gauff took the first nine games of her match before Eala finally got on the board.[/p][p]The third-seeded Gauff, who struggled on serve in the previous round, committing a whopping 16 double faults, struck her eighth of the match to give Eala a lifeline and surrender a break.[/p][p]That was the last blip from Gauff, who wrapped up the win on the 67-minute mark to reach her second Dubai semi-final.[/p][embed guid="7ef689b2-14a1-4627-a0a3-105241ff1e5a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-NN1Y1lknY" social-type="youtube" /][p][b]"I think tennis needs more of this,"[/b] Gauff said, speaking of the raucous atmosphere created by Eala's fans, who have sold out the stadium for her matches all week.[/p][p][b]"It's great just to see a nation so proud of someone, especially a nation that's pretty under-represented in this sport. I think it's pretty cool to see.[/b][/p][p][b]"I also liked, even at 6-0, 4-1 or 4-0, she was smiling. I think that's something that you can't buy. I see why people want to root for her. I root for her when I'm not playing her, of course."[/b][/p][p]Gauff will take on two-time Dubai champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] in the final four. In the last match of the day, the Ukrainian came back to beat Croatian lucky loser [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruzic-antonia/MuT7l0nb/"]Antonia Ruzic[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/ruzic-a-MuT7l0nb/svitolina-e-jyngIesG/?mid=dnHhRXtQ"]3-6, 6-2, 6-3.[/a][/p][h2]Pegula reaches seventh-straight semi[/h2][p]Pegula advanced to a seventh consecutive Tour-level semi-final - dating back to the 2025 US Open - with a hard-fought three-set win against last year's runner-up Tauson.[/p][p][b]"I think I've been serving a lot better. Physically, been feeling good,"[/b] Pegula said.[/p][p][b]"I've been working on my game a lot. I think I've become a better player over the last six months."[/b][/p][p]In their first meeting, Pegula and Tauson split the first two sets and were neck and neck in the decider until the American claimed a crucial break in the seventh game.[/p][embed guid="ea319ca4-aa28-410a-a6ee-6b78fe917abc" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3MWX6Glkrk" social-type="youtube" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/dubai/"]Follow the Dubai Tennis Championships here.[/a][/b][/p]