The Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified, on Wednesday, in Melbourne, in the semifinals of the women's doubles event of the Australian Open tennis tournament, the first Grand Slam of the year, after they defeated the number four favorites, Storm Hunter (Australia)/Elise Mertens (Belgium), 7-6 (8/6) 2-6 6-4.
Ruse and Kostiuk, in their best performance at a Grand Slam tournament, secured victory after two and a half hours of play.
Ruse and Kostiuk had 5 aces and 9 double faults, while Hunter and Mertens finished with 3 aces and 4 double faults. Ruse and her partner had more direct winning balls, 23-18, but also more unforced errors, 16-10.
The Ruse/Kostiuk pair secured a 210,000 Australian dollars cheque and 780 WTA points in doubles, and in the semi-finals they will meet the main favorites, the Czechs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who are the holders of the title in Melbourne.AGERPRES
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