Open In Arte Angers Loire: Barthel moves into semi-finals

German Mona Barthel reached the semi-finals of the Open In Arte Angers Loire by beating Barbora Palicova 6-4, 7-5 on Friday.

Barthel, ranked No 183, will face the winner of the match between American Alycia Parks, the No 3 seed, and Andorran Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva next.

The 34-year-old German won against Frenchwoman Selena Janicijevic (6-1, 6-3) and Frenchwoman Clara Burel, the top seed (6-2, 4-6, 6-3) in the previous rounds.

Earlier in the week, Palicova, ranked No 188, won against Japanese Sara Saito (6-4, 6-4) and American wildcard Clervie Ngounoue (3-6, 6-1, 6-2).