Zhu beats top seed Garcia in straight sets in Cleveland quarterfinals

CLEVELAND (AP) — Lin Zhu of China beat top-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of Tennis in the Land on Thursday.

Zhu, ranked No. 48 in the world, has not lost a set through three rounds in Cleveland. She broke No. 7 Garcia five times to advance to the semifinals. Garcia received a wild card to make her initial appearance at the WTA 250 event.

“I’m very proud of my performance today because Caroline is an amazing player,” Zhu said. “She always hits a big serve, and I have to be ready and be more patient and stay in the game against her.”

Fourth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova will face Zhu in the semifinals of the U.S. Open tune-up after rallying past Xinyu Wang 5-7, 6-0, 7-5.

The tournament was affected by multiple rain delays for the second straight day, forcing ninth-seeded Sloane Stephens to play two matches in an eight-hour span.

No. 38 Stephens defeated 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-3 in the morning but lost 6-1, 6-3 to Sara Sorribes Tormo in the quarterfinals.

Tatjana Maria beat Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-2 in the other evening match. Both semifinals will be played Friday.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis