Zheng stuns Kasatkina in Abu Dhabi boilover
No.1 seed Daria Kasatkina succumbed to a surprise quarter-final exit against Zheng Qinwen at the Abu Dhabi Open as Belinda Bencic marched into the final four.
Kasatkina was blown away in just 78 minutes by Zheng, who only dropped three games in her 6-1 6-2 upset of the world No.8.
Zheng, who defeated world No.12 Jelena Ostapenko earlier this week, executed her serve-and-volley approach expertly throughout, with the 20-year-old claiming the third top-10 victory of her career to reach her third tour-level semi-final.
Another Russian player stands between Zheng and a place in the final after No.8 seed Liudmila Samsonova dispatched compatriot Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-3.
Bencic found form after edging a tough first set against qualifier Shelby Rodgers, who saw her run ended by a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 defeat.
No.2 seed Bencic will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semi-finals after the Brazilian railed to beat Wimbledon champion and Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 6-2 less than 24 hours after beating Yulia Putintseva in a marathon three-hour encounter.
Meanwhile, No.1 seed Maria Sakkari secured her progress to the last four at the Linz Open with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) straight sets win over Donna Vekic.
The Greek will face off with Petra Martic next, while Anastasia Potapova faces the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in the other semi-final.
