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MIAMI, FL, USA – No.19 seed Timea Bacsinszky roared into the final four of the Miami Open for the first time in her career with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over No.5 seed Simona Halep.

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Bacsinszky had to battle from behind after dropping the opening set and was undaunted by a gloomy forecast – one that even briefly halted proceedings right when the 2015 French Open semifinalist began to find her rhythm. 

“I came back from a long road,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “The first set was really tough. She’s an awesome player and a great fighter.

“For the last year, she has also been an inspiration for me because I believe in hard work and she’s one of the players who work really hard, so to be able to play that well against her and to catch the win is really amazing.

“I’m really happy with the win.”

Hey @TimeaOfficial: You giving @Laragut a cut of your check? https://t.co/ps1zCpLRuT

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 29, 2016

Using her backhand with deadly accuracy, Bacsinszky rolled through the first four games of the final set, eventually serving out the upset with her 20th winner of the match. Watching from the stands was friend and top skiier Lara Gut, who extended her vacation to continue playing “good luck charm” and watch her countrywoman win another day.

“She’s still here! The Swiss are super happy about it; it was even in the news,” she said, then addressing Gut, “Thanks so much for your support; you’re also a huge inspiration for me.”

Narrowly missing out on the chance to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Bacsinszky had just cracked the Top 10 for the first time in her career when a knee injury suffered in Luxembourg and an viral illness after Fed Cup disrupted her start to 2016.

Now back to playing some of her best tennis, she heads into her first Miami Open semifinal with wins over Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska – her first career Top 3 win – and Halep, with the winner of No.15 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and No.30 seed Ekaterina Makarova waiting in the other quarterfinal.

For a young woman who had once left the sport to pursue a career in hotel management, Bacsinszky takes her continued success in stride, even courting support from Halep’s disappointed fans.

“I know there are a lot of Romanians; I know a few words because my grandparents are from Satu Mare, so I’ll just say mulțumesc [thank you] and see you next time!”

? ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/wf3yvZtEcV

— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – Everyone needs a little bit of luck sometimes. For No.20 Timea Bacsinszky, she’s had one of the best athletes in the world cheering her on in Miami and it’s paid dividends.

Bacsinszky backed up her big win over No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska with another stunner just 24 hours later, beating No.5 Simona Halep, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals of the Miami Open on Tuesday. In the stands supporting her all week was Switzerland’s Lara Gut, the No.1 Alpine skier in the world, who just two weeks ago won the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The 24-year-old became the first Swiss woman since 1995 to win.

“She wrote me the Friday before, so it wasn’t official that she was going to be in Miami,” Bacsinszky told WTA Insider. “But she finished her competition on Sunday for the Crystal Globes, and she wrote me on Friday like, ‘Hey, it would be fun if I could come watch you in Miami,’ so I knew she was coming to Miami anyway. It was actually a big thing in Switzerland; no one knew where she was, and I was reading Swiss news headlines that were asking, ‘Where Has Lara Gone For Holidays?'”

“I finished my season last Sunday and it was important for me to have a break,” Gut told WTA Insider after Bacsinszky’s quarterfinal win. “I decided to come to Miami and I found out there was a tennis tournament. So I contacted Timea and she got me a badge. I started coming the first day and I got interested and she was playing so well that I came the second day and she was still winning. I was supposed to fly home yesterday but since she won I tried to stay here for one more day. She’s playing awesome and it’s really fun to watch.”

And the winner is… @TimeaOfficial !! Yeeeeeeeees! ??#WTA @MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TaFJQUlsMX

— Lara Gut (@Laragut) March 29, 2016

Bacsinszky and Gut first met in 2009 but have become closer recently after Gut began working with Bacsinszky’s manager. Gut was scheduled to leave for Switzerland after Bacsinszky’s win over Radwanska but she knew she couldn’t leave her friend out in the cold.

“Yesterday after Timea’s win I had to call Swiss Air to see if they could change my flight,” Gut said. “I could stay here one day longer because I’m supposed to leave tomorrow for training. So it’s going to be a bit stressful when I come home but it was more important to stay here and cheer on Timea than have more time to pack.”

“In Switzerland it’s a small country. We have a chance to meet other athletes. We have such strong athletes like Timea, Roger, Stan, and Belinda. We were still kids when we first met. It’s cool to see what she has done all these years and that she’s still improving.”

Getting the credential for Gut proved slightly more difficult than Bacsinszky expected. Switzerland may be a skiing-mad country, but trying to explain the situation in Miami proved a little tricky.

“In Switzerland, she can’t walk around, everyone knows her,” Bacsinszky said. “Here too, she didn’t want to attract attention. I know Lindsey Vonn is well-known, but the No.1 [skier] is at your tournament and no one knows it.

“When I asked for a badge for her at accreditation I said, ‘You know Lindsey Vonn?’ and they said, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ and I said, ‘Well, the girl who’s just in front of her in the rankings and just won the Crystal Globe is coming, so provide it now,” she said laughing. “Just Google her name.”

Bacsinszky will play Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday for a spot in the Miami Open final. After a slow start to the season after rehabbing from a bad knee injury, Bacsinszky has played herself into form, reaching her best result since the China Open final last fall. A title in Miami would boost her back in the Top 10. It’s all clicking for Bacsinszky and having a great champion in her box this week certainly hasn’t hurt.

“It’s funny to talk about sport and to like exchange what you feel during a race, what do I feel during a match,” Bacsinszky said. “We have so many things to talk about. It gives many, many new [perspectives], views on sports. It was really, really interesting for me. Yeah, lucky charm for sure.”

Two former champions will look to return to the Miami Open final on Thursday. But Angelique Kerber and Timea Bacsinszky have other ideas. We preview today’s semifinal matchups here.

Thursday, Semifinals

[15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #19) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Kuznetsova can break into the Top 10 for the first time since 2010 by winning the title in Miami this weekend.
Svetlana Kuznetsova and Timea Bacsinszky have combined to knock off three of the tournament’s top five seeds in Miami. On Thursday, they’ll set their sights on one another for a spot in the prestigious Miami final. Whether or not Bacsinszky emerges victorious, she wants the world to know that she intends to have many more chances at greatness. “I’m never satisfied,” Bacsinszky told press after her impressive takedown of No.5 seed Simona Halep on Tuesday. “You’re going to probably see me around in the next years as well because I love what I do. I’m just going to try to improve and to be better every week, every day, every month, every year.” The Swiss will try to overcome Kuznetsova with the same world-class defense and variety off of both wings that she used to deconstruct Halep’s game on Tuesday, while Kuznetsova will look to impose herself in the rallies with her athleticism, power and pace. The Russian, who backed up her win over World No.1 Serena Williams with a grueling three-set triumph in the quarterfinals against Ekaterina Makarova, told the crowd she just wanted to sleep after that match. After a few good nights of rest, will the 2006 Miami champion continue turning back the clock to her heyday? Or will the crafty Bacsinszky become the first Swiss player to reach the final here since Martina Hingis in 2001?

Pick: Bacsinszky in three

[13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8) vs. [2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3)
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads, 6-1
Key Stat: With her victory over Johanna Konta on Wednesday, Azarenka has assured a return to the Top 5 next week.
Scorching-hot Victoria Azarenka is now two matches away from becoming the first player to claim the elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine Double” since 2005. Standing in her way on Thursday is Angelique Kerber, the only player to have registered a victory over the Belarusian this season. On Wednesday Azarenka continued her torrid tennis by easing past Great Britain’s Johanna Konta to notch her eleventh consecutive win. In her victory, the two-time Miami Open champion continued to reap the benefits of a beefed-up service attack, saving all five break points she faced. It’s a trend Azarenka is very excited about. “If you compare to Australia it’s a big difference from Indian Wells and here,” Azarenka said of her serve. “I’m really trying to work on it and make adjustments to use it more as a weapon.” Azarenka is currently the WTA’s leader in percentage of service games won in 2016. She says she has her team to thank for that statistic. “I think that’s been missing for a long, long time to really take my game to next level,” she said of her newfound serving prowess. “I’m glad I have team around me to push me, to learn to trust myself, and really take that and improve it.”

Kerber needed some time to catch her breath after winning the Australian Open in January. But here in Miami she has snapped a three-match losing streak by reeling off four victories, including a straight-sets trouncing of No. 22 seed Madison Keys on Wednesday. Kerber broke a six-match winless streak against Azarenka in Australia when she defeated her in the quarterfinals en route to her maiden major title. She hopes the force will still be with her on Thursday when they meet again. “I will go out there and try to focus on my game, be aggressive and try to beat her,” Kerber said.

Pick: Azarenka in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

DOHA, Qatar – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the only winner on Tuesday at the Qatar Total Open, moving through a rainy Valentine’s Day to dispatch former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, 6-1, 6-4, and advance into the second round.

“It was quite a long day, but I’ll take it,” she said after the match. “I’m happy to be one of the first ones done today, and it’s a nice present for myself, as well.”

Pavlyuchenkova came in hot after a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, completing a career set of last eight appearances at major tournaments. But stormy weather threatened to cool off the big-hitting Russian, who was set to open play against Jankovic, one of the most dangerous qualifiers in recent memory.

“I haven’t such a good start to a season before, but it’s exciting, and I’m just trying to take it tournament by tournament.”

Court floor being dried in order to resume the matches of the @WTA #Qatar_Total_Open! Keep following us for more updates! pic.twitter.com/IEGFVI5wIe

— Qatar Tennis Fed. (@QatarTennis) February 14, 2017

Jankovic had to battle through three rounds of qualifying for the first time since 2004 (Filderstadt), but after a year full of injuries, the 2008 US Open finalist discussed the need for more matches to help ease her back into competitive play.

“I’m feeling good but I need to get my game up there and of course my confidence and just being comfortable in the matches, being in those situations all over again, match in, match out, day in, day out, compete and fight and find my way,” she said on Monday.

Even with multiple rain delays, the Serb ultimately had few answers against Pavlyuchenkova, who hit 23 winners to just 14 unforced errors while Jankovic went 0/5 on break point opportunities.

.@NastiaPav has come out swinging after the rain delay! @QatarTennis pic.twitter.com/f7suGTINVJ

— WTA (@WTA) February 14, 2017

“I didn’t do much,” Pavlyuchenkova said of how she spent the time between play. “I was just talking with my coach, and some players as well. But I tried not to expend too much energy so I could keep as much as I could for the court. I don’t know how i managed, so I’m happy to finish this match.

“I guess I was calm,” she continued later on in a post-match interview, “and that’s the main thing, to accept the weather conditions. We were both in the same position, waiting for play to resume. I just tried to do my best.

“I haven’t done so well in the past at this tournament. I’ll try to go as far as I can and hopefully I can show some good tennis and have a great result.”

The Valentine’s Day victory reminded her of another from a few years ago at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, where she fielded a proposal from an excited fan.

“I’d won a quarterfinal match in Monterrey, and he got on one knee with a ring. That was the last thing I expected, but it’s nice.

“At least somebody wants to marry me!”

Up next for the Russian is No.3 seed and reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Dominika Cibulkova.

.@NastiaPav edges Jankovic 6-1, 6-4!

Meets @Cibulkova in @QatarTennis Second round! pic.twitter.com/CK4wbLJFTP

— WTA (@WTA) February 14, 2017