Hercog stays on course

Defending champion Polona Hercog bounced back from a set down to book her place in the semi-finals of the Swedish Open.

Rematch of last year's final remains possible

Defending champion Polona Hercog bounced back from a set down to book her place in the semi-finals of the Swedish Open. Hercog overcame the Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 3-6 7-5 6-4 to reach the last four, where she will meet the seventh seed Mona Barthel, who was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Sofia Arvidsson. A rematch of last year's final remains possible as runner-up Johanna Larsson kept her own challenge alive. Larsson began the day by playing out her rain-delayed second-round match, dispatching third seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4 6-4, and was then given a welcome rest as her quarter-final was cut short when sixth seed Klara Zakopalova retired due to an illness trailing 2-0. Zakopalova was also playing in her second match of the day, having early easily beaten qualifier Mariana Duque Marino 6-0 6-1. Mathilde Johansson was another player doubling up, beating Shahar Peer 6-2 3-6 6-2 in her second-round tie before knocking out fifth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-0 to reach the semi-finals.