Wildcard Romina Oprandi produced the result of the day as she eliminated Aravane Rezai at the quarter-final stage of the Palermo Open.
Pennetta, Kanepi and Goerges also progress in Palermo
Wildcard Romina Oprandi produced the result of the day as she eliminated second seed Aravane Rezai at the quarter-final stage of the Palermo Open.
The Italian former top 50 player produced an inspired display in front of her home crowd to snatch an impressive 7-5 6-0 win.
The world number 90, who only gained entry to the clay-court event courtesy of a wildcard, bounced back brilliantly from 2-0 down to take the first set, and never looked back thereafter.
Speaking moments after reaching her first WTA semi-final, Oprandi told
www. sonyericssonwtatour.com: "I'm very happy because this is my first semi-final.
"Today's match wasn't easy. This is my best win since I beat (Vera) Zvonareva four years ago. I hope to continue this way. I feel very good about my tennis right now."
Oprandi will face in-form fifth seed Kaia Kanepi for a place in the final after she overcame third seed Sara Errani 6-2 6-2.
"I've made a lot of progress on clay and today I played some very good tennis," Kanepi said. "Sara wasn't easy to play against but I was always leading."
Top seed Flavia Pennetta also progressed, keeping alive hopes of an all-Italian final after a straightforward 6-4 6-2 win over Nuria Llagostera Vives.
Pennetta will play No.8 seed Julia Goerges in the last four after she dispatched American veteran Jill Craybas 6-2 6-4.
