Mumbai Open | Tagger rallies to knock out Semenistaja, meets Fangran in the semifinals

In a contest between two champions players — Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja, the 2024 tournament winner here, and Austria’s Lilli Tagger — it was the 17-year-old who came through.

The 2025 French Open junior champion, seeded seventh, rallied to defeat second seed Semenistaja 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a last eight clash in the L&T Mumbai Open 125K Series at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association here on Friday.

The 23-year-old Latvian made a strong opening, asserting control in the first set with a high percentage on serve and well-placed winners from the baseline. Semenistaja repeatedly unsettled Tagger with court-stretching groundstrokes and forehand volleys, forcing the teenager into long rallies.

One of the standout moments came in the sixth game, a marathon exchange featuring extended rallies before Tagger eventually held serve with a blistering forehand winner down the line to level at 3-3. Semenistaja, however, drew on her experience and broke serve in the tenth game to take the opening set 6-4.

Tagger found her rhythm in the second set, lifting both her intensity and precision. The Austrian served with authority, firing aces down the ‘T’, and began to control rallies with a ‘Federer-esque’ backhand and effective net play to claim the set 6-4.

The decider was one-way traffic. With the humid conditions taking a visible toll on Semenistaja, Tagger dictated proceedings, breaking early and maintaining her dominance from the baseline to close out the match 6-2 and seal her place in the last four.

Other Results: Singles (quarterfinals): Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Tatiana Prozorova (Rus) 6-1, 6-4; Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Leolia Jeanjean (Fra) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Fangran Tian (Chn) bt Mei Yamaguchi (Jpn) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

Doubles (semifinal): Nicole Fossa Huergo (Arg) & Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Hiroko Kuwata (Jpn) & Park So-hyun (Kor) bt (Tha) 6-4, 6-7(4), [10-5].