Charleston Open 125: Cocciaretto defeats Kessler to move into last four

Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, the No 4 seed, moved into the semi-finals of the Charleston Open 125 by beating American qualifier Mccartney Kessler 7-5, 6-3 at the Family Circle Tennis Center

Cocciaretto, ranked No 60, will face Belgian Greet Minnen next.

The Italian beat Australian Arina Rodionova (6-3, 6-2) and Spanish qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera (6-0, 6-3) ahead of her victory.

In the previous rounds of the Charleston 125 tournament, Kessler, ranked No 123, edged out Chinese Lin Zhu, the No 5 seed (3-6, 6-4, 7-5) and defeated Russian Kamilla Rakhimova (7-5, 6-2).

Charleston WTA 125K Series, other last-eight results (Family Circle Tennis Center, hard, USD 115.000, most recent results first):

• Erika Andreeva vs. Yafan Wang
• Greet Minnen beat Rebeka Masarova: 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3
• Diana Shnaider (7) beat Oceane Dodin: 6-3, 6-2