Chennai Open: Podoroska sends Bouchard packing

Argentina's Nadia Podoroska on Friday outlasted crowd favourite Eugenie Bouchard 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the singles quarter-final of the Chennai Open WTA 250 tennis tournament overcoming a rain delay.

Later, second-seeded Varvara Gracheva crashed out, losing to Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova.

Bouchard got off to a quick start in the opening last eight clash and raced away to win it 6-1 in 38 minutes.

The second set saw a reversal of fortunes as Podoroska broke in the third game to sneak ahead. Yet another break in game five saw the Argentine go 4-1 up.

Bouchard, a former Wimbledon runner-up and ranked as high as No.5 in 2014, mounted a fightback but Podoroska held serve in the 10th game after a nervy battle to level the match.

The decider saw Podoroska, a semi-finalist at French Open in 2020, run away to a 3-0 lead. However, play was suspended due to lightning. Later, rain kept the player off the court for a little more while.

The 25-year old Argentine right-hander maintained her poise on resumption and saw off the experienced Canadian, who is on a comeback trail from injury. She won the decider 6-2 to book a spot in the last four.

"I was making too many mistakes early in the match. Then I tried to keep the ball in court, which helped," Podoroska said after the win.

The unseeded Fruhvirtova showed why she is rated so highly with a convincing demolition of the No.2 seed Gracheva, ranked 72, posting a 6-4, 6-3 win.

She trailed early in the opening set before hitting back to pip the Russian. In the second too, the Czech player fell 3-0 behind. However, she roared back to win the next six games to advance to the semi-finals where Podoroska awaits.

Results: Singles (Quarter-finals): Nadia Podoroska (Argentina) beat Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; Linda Fruhvirtova (Czech Republic) beat Varvara Gracheva (X2) 6-4, 6-3.