Paris, France – French Open runner-up Sara Errani was a hard-fought quarterfinal winner Friday at the GDF Suez Open tennis event.
The top-seeded Italian held off game sweet-swinging Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in 3 hours, 3 minutes at Stade Coubertin. The match featured 15 service breaks, including eight for the winner.
Errani's semifinal opponent on Saturday will be Dutch lucky-loser Kiki Bertens, who upset sixth-seeded two-time Paris runner-up Lucie Safarova, 6-1, 7-5. The Czech Safarova was a finalist at this tournament in 2007 and 2010.
Another upset came when capable German Mona Barthel took out third-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in straight sets, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4. The former Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli lost to another German, Angelique Kerber, in last year's GDF Suez finale.
The winner of this $690,000 event will collect $125,000.
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