Pakistan, Sept. 19 -- Eighth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova is through to her first semifinal of the year after upsetting top-seeded Marta Kostyuk 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Guadalajara Open on Thursday in Mexico.

Samsonova, a 27-year-old Russian, had been to the quarterfinals of three other events this year. Her last semifinal appearance came in June 2025 at Berlin. Kostyuk, a 24-year-old Ukrainian, was playing her first match of the week. She received a first-round bye, then got a walkover through the second round when her scheduled opponent, Taylor Townsend, withdrew due to a medical situation that required emergency surgery. Townsend's social media post didn't provide details of the operation. Samsonova will oppose Peyton Stearns in the semifin...