Bejlek continues stunning run to set up Gauff semi

Czech qualifier-turned-contender Sara Bejlek continued her remarkable run at the Cincinnati Open, beating American Madison Keys to reach her first WTA 1000 semi-final. The unseeded 20-year-old will now face fourth seed Coco Gauff, in a match that underlines how far Bejlek has come since winning her maiden title as a qualifier in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

Bejlek beat Keys 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5), coming back from a set and a break down before winning a tense final-set tie-break in two hours and 37 minutes. It is her third notable scalp of the tournament, having already beaten world number one Aryna Sabalenka and former champion Barbora Krejcikova; she credited a recent team talk for a boost in self-belief and fitness. Gauff, meanwhile, thrashed Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-2 to reach a third straight semi-final, saying a more aggressive net game learned at Wimbledon has transformed her form ahead of the US Open, which begins in New York on 30 August.