Blinkova holds off Kabbaj in three sets to set up Feistel semi-final in Luanda
Top seed Anna Blinkova let the second set slip but regrouped in the decider to beat sixth seed Yasmine Kabbaj 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the Luanda quarter-finals.
Anna Blinkova | © Zuma/PsNewz
Top seed Anna Blinkova let the second set slip but regrouped in the decider to beat sixth seed Yasmine Kabbaj 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the Luanda quarter-finals. The former world No. 35 saved eight of 12 break points over 2 hours 17 minutes, then closed it out after Kabbaj saved three match points. Gina Feistel now stands between her and the final.
She will face Gina Feistel in the semi-finals after Feistel beat Ksenia Zaytseva 6-1, 7-5.
Blinkova, ranked No. 105 and with a career-high ranking of No. 35, came through against a 22-year-old ranked No. 254.
How Blinkova beat Kabbaj
Blinkova took the opening set 6-2 and broke at the start of the second, but Kabbaj levelled by taking that set 6-2. The decider turned in its opening exchanges. Trailing 0-1, Blinkova saved three break points to hold, then broke at 2-2 and again at 4-2 to lead 5-2. Kabbaj saved three match points to break back for 5-3, but Blinkova served it out at 5-4, converting the first match point of that game.
The top seed held up better under pressure, saving eight of the 12 break points she faced, while Kabbaj saved only three of eight. Blinkova also served six aces, to none for Kabbaj.
Blinkova faces Feistel next in Luanda Blinkova opened her week with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Algeria’s Farah Heddar before beating China’s Zongyu Li 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the last 16.
Her most recent title came in Jiujiang in October 2025, when she beat Lilli Tagger 6-3, 6-3 in the final. Feistel, a straight-sets winner over Zaytseva, now stands between the top seed and a place in the final.
Kabbaj had reached the quarter-finals by beating South Africa’s Jahnie Van Zyl 7-5, 6-2 and France’s Diana Martynov 6-2, 6-1.
Angola Ladies Open 2026 quarter-final results
Anna Blinkova (1) d. Yasmine Kabbaj (6) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
Gina Feistel d. Ksenia Zaytseva 6-1, 7-5
Sofya Lansere (8) d. Martyna Kubka (3) 7-6 (4), 7-5
Noma Noha Akugue (2) d. Justina Mikulskyte (5) 6-2, 6-3
