Iasi Open: Serban reaches last four

Cypriot Raluka Serban reached the semi-finals of the Iasi Open by beating Brazilian Laura Pigossi, the No 7 seed, 7-6 (8), 7-5 at Baza Sportivă Ciric on Friday.

Serban, ranked No 166, will play the winner of the match between Swiss Simona Waltert, the No 5 seed, and Romanian Ana Bogdan, the second seed, next.

The Cypriot won against Russian qualifier Ekaterina Yashina (6-1, 6-2) and Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, the No 4 seed (6-0, 6-1) ahead of her victory.

Earlier in the tournament, Pigossi, ranked No 138, won against Romanian Miriam Bulgaru (5-7, 6-0, 6-1) and edged out Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot (4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5).

Iasi WTA 125K Series, other last eight results (Baza Sportivă Ciric, clay, USD 115.000, most recent results first):

• Darya Astakhova vs. Tamara Zidansek
• Irina-Camelia Begu vs. Jil Teichmann
• Simona Waltert vs. Ana Bogdan