Katie Volynets vs Kimberly Birrell — QF — Korea Open

Second seed Kimberly Birrell lost the opening set 6-2 and recovered to beat Katie Volynets in the Korea Open quarterfinals. The match ran five hours and 36 minutes and is recorded as ending with Birrell ahead 4-2 in the deciding set, the score at 40-40; no reason for the finish is documented. Volynets, WTA No. 77, had conceded six games in her first two matches here, and the betting market favored her at 71 percent against the No. 56-ranked Birrell. Volynets broke in games 2 and 4 of the opening set for a 4-0 lead. Birrell double-faulted four times in that set and won 40 percent of her first-serve points. The second set ran the other way. Birrell won 76 percent of her first-serve points, broke in games 1 and 3 for 3-0, and broke again in game 8 to level the match. She broke in the opening game of the third as well, and again in game 5 for 4-1, before Volynets broke back in game 6 for 2-4. Neither player held serve reliably: Birrell won seven of her 11 service games, Volynets six of 11. Volynets converted 67 percent of her break points, four of six, while Birrell took five of 13, a 38 percent rate. The two had no prior meetings on record, and Birrell goes through to the semifinals.