Slovakian Kristina Novak, Italian Noemi Maines, American Shannon Lam and Spanish Carmen Gallardo will compete for the title at the Gran Canaria Tennis & Padel Center.
The Gran Canaria Tennis & Padel Center hosted an intense quarter-final day of the ITF W15 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Friday, which defined the four semifinalists of the tournament. Slovakian Kristina Novak, Italian Noemi Maines, American Shannon Lam, and Spanish Carmen Gallardo are the players still in contention for the title in the tournament organised by CD Costa Arenas, with sponsorship from the Cabildo de Gran Canaria through the Insular Sports Institute.
The only Canary Islands representative still in competition, Gran Canaria's Lucía Rodríguez, was eliminated by Novak in a match dominated by the Slovakian from start to finish. Rodríguez, who had been one of the sensations of the tournament, could not counteract Novak's solidity, losing 6-4 and 6-1 in just over an hour. Despite the defeat, the local player has left an excellent impression and a promising future, according to tournament sources.
Italian Noemi Maines, the seventh seed, confirmed her good form by overcoming Russian Anna Shkutova 7-5 and 6-2. The first set was very close, but Maines managed to keep her composure in the decisive moments to close it in her favour. In the second set, the Italian took control of the game and gave her opponent no chances, sealing her place in the semifinals with authority.
The big surprise of the day was American Shannon Lam, the sixth seed, who eliminated second seed French Emma Lene in an exciting three-set match. Lam came back from a losing position after losing the first set 5-7 but reacted strongly to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4. The American demonstrated great mental and physical strength to overcome a rival who was the favourite.
Completing the semifinal line-up was Spanish Carmen Gallardo, the fifth seed, who defeated Moroccan Aya El Aouni with solid and flawless tennis. Gallardo, who has already shown her quality in previous rounds, continues her path towards the title firmly and presents herself as one of the contenders for the trophy.
Thus, the semifinals of the ITF W15 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will see Shannon Lam face Carmen Gallardo on one side, and Kristina Novak against Noemi Maines on the other. The matches will take place on the courts of the Gran Canaria Tennis & Padel Center, which have provided impeccable conditions for tennis practice throughout the week.
The doubles draw also defined the semifinals. The pair formed by Spanish Lorena Soler and Turkish Defne Cirpanli will face Spanish Olga Bienzobas Fernández and Australian Noemi McKenzie. The other semifinal will pit the Italian duo of Eleonora Alvisi and Sonia Cassani against French Emma Lene and Dutch Demi Tran. Saturday's matches will decide the finalists in both singles and doubles, in a new event of the tournament that has gathered tennis fans from across the island.
The ITF W15 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which runs until Sunday, has the collaboration of the Canary Islands Tennis Federation and has brought together players from several countries, establishing itself as an important event in the international women's tennis calendar. The organisation expects a large turnout for the semifinals and final, which promise high-level tennis.
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