Carla Suarez Navarro is one win away from her next title…
The 29-year-old Spanish tennis player will compete for the Connecticut Open championship, despite completing just one full match this week and playing less than four sets.
Navarro advanced Friday when Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig retired during their first set of their semifinal with an abdominal injury.
Suarez Navarro will face Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, who upset fifth-seeded Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the first semifinal.
“I feel like I didn’t play and I’m in the final,” Suarez Navarro said. “But, well, I cannot do nothing.”
Suarez Navarro won her first match against Barbora Strycova in straight sets. Her second-round opponent, Johanna Konta, withdrew with an illness. She was leading 6-3 in the quarterfinals Thursday when third-seeded Petra Kvitova bowed out with a shoulder injury.
Puig was leading 4-3 after exchanging service breaks with Suarez Navarro when she left the court holding her abdomen. Puig, the reigning Olympic champion, returned five minutes later, lost the next game, then approached the net in tears and announced she could not continue.
“It was a bit of an abdominal strain that I started feeling in my second service game,” Puig said. “I just gradually got worse from there. Obviously, with the US Open so close, it’s better not to make it worse, miss a tournament. I mean, I already know the consequences of getting injured and missing a Grand Slam. That’s not ideal.”
Puig said she is hopeful of playing in New York against Stefanie Vogele of Switzerland on Tuesday.
Suarez Navarro will be seeking her third career WTA title.
