Day 6 Preview - ASB Classic

Today’s ASB Classic Watch

By Matt Brown, Newstalk ZB

DAY 6 PREVIEW: The semifinals are set and we are guaranteed to see one qualifier in the Sunday’s singles final. 

Spaniard Rebeka Masarova will meet Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure after both players caused significant upsets. Bonaventure who said she had had a tough preparation for the tournament, stunned 3rd seed Leylah Fernandez to reach her first WTA semi-final. It’s somewhat of a breakthrough result for Masarova beating former world number 19 Karolina Muchova. Masarova is 23 and won the French Open as a junior in 2016. She will rise to a career high 118 by reaching the semis and will crack the top 100 if she wins the tournament. 

Top seed Coco Gauff will face 7th seed Danka Kovinic. 

Gauff has been in imperious form through three matches and will be a strong favourite against the Montenegrin. The pair have never played before but Gauff watched her play Serena Williams at the US Open and says it will be a tough match as Kovinic hits big and gets a lot of balls back in court. 

Qualifying also gets underway ahead of the men’s ASB Classic with Kiwis Finn Reynolds and Ajeet Rai in action. Reynolds takes on Portugal’s Joao Sousa a former finalist in Auckland and Rai plays Japan’s Taro Daniel whom he lost two in qualifying on his first appearance at the ASB Classic in 2018.