Bouzkova's Prague title defence ended by Valentova
Marie Bouzkova's Prague Open title defence ended at the quarter-final stage after she was edged out in a three-set thriller by compatriot Tereza Valentova.
After losing the opening set, Valentova prevailed with a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory and teed up a clash with Ukrainian Daria Snigur, who beat Lanlana Tararudee earlier in the day.
The No.1 seed and two-time winner at her home tournament appeared set to cruise to the final after winning five of the final six games of the first set, which included three breaks.
Bouzkova went 2-0 ahead early on in the second set, only for Valentova to respond as both players struggled with their service games.
However, Valentova was able to get the better of Bouzkova's serve at the end of the set, then produced a love service game to ensure the match would go the distance.
Valentova also got ahead in the decider when she broke her opponent in the fifth game, but Bouzkova broke back in a mammoth eighth game which saw her carve out five break points.
But Valentova remained composed and booked her spot in the semi-finals via a tie-break, when her serve was returned long by Bouzkova on match point.
There is still every chance of an all-Czech final, too, after Barbora Krejcikova breezed past Dominika Salkova in straight sets.
The 2021 Prague Open champion needed just one hour and 19 minutes to earn a 6-3 6-3 win, with Austria's Lilli Tagger now standing in between her and a spot in the showpiece.
Tagger dumped out No.3 seed Sara Bejlek with an impressive 6-4 6-4 triumph, nine days after losing to the same opponent in straight sets in Athens.
