Kiki Bertens into semis of the French open 2016

PARIS, France
Kiki Bertens  continued her french open  fairytale on Thursday afternoon with a straight set victory over No.8 seed timea Bacsinszky.

Prior to this fortnight, Bertens had only ever been beyond the second round of a major once before - reaching the fourth round here in 2014 - but after defeating Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-2, she will now face reigning champion Serena Williams for a place in the final.

An opening set littered with breaks and momentum shifts hinged on the 11th game when Bertens bucked the trend by holding serve. A sequence of errors from Bacsinszky brought three set points, Bertens wrapping it up courtesy of a thumping forehand.

By contrast, the second set was all Bertens, her confidence soaring after prevailing in the 70-minute opening stanza. Understandably given her recent exploits - this was her 20th match in singles and doubles in the past 20 days - the Dutchwoman began to run out of steam as the finishing line approached.