GUADALAJARA, Sep 14 (V7N) – France's Caroline Garcia advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA hard court tournament in Guadalajara on Friday, benefiting from the withdrawal of sixth-seeded Marie Bouzkova, who pulled out due to illness before their scheduled quarter-final match.

Garcia, 30, had ended a three-match losing streak on Thursday with a hard-fought victory over Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara, edging her out in two tiebreak sets. The win also marked Garcia's rebound after an early exit at the US Open.

In the semi-finals, Garcia will face fifth-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland, who secured her spot by defeating Canadian teenager Marina Stakusic 6-4, 6-3. Frech took an hour and 44 minutes to overcome Stakusic, who had stunned top seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round after saving four match points.

Meanwhile, Australian qualifier Olivia Gadecki became the first player to book a semi-final place, defeating Italy’s Martina Trevisan 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Gadecki's victory marks a milestone as she reached her first-ever WTA semi-final, following impressive wins over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens and second-seeded Danielle Collins.

Gadecki will face Colombia's Camila Osorio in the semi-finals. Osorio earned her spot by defeating Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.

END/WSD/SMA/