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A20 SPORTS
Saturday 7 april 2018
No. 5 seed Goerges, No. 7 Keys reach semis in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — prevailing in an all-U.S. sure next time is going to be
Germany’s Julia Goerges match with Bernarda Pera much easier.”
continued her strong sea- 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5. Little came easy for Keys the
son by defeating defend- Keys will take on either No. final two sets against Pera,
ing champion Daria Kasat- 12 Kim Bertens of the Neth- the 23-year-old ranked 101
kina to reach the semifinals erlands or No. 14 Alize Cor- in the world yet won three
of the Volvo Car Open on net of France who’ll play matches to make the quar-
Friday. Friday night. terfinals. Keys had match
Goerges, the fifth seed Goerges said getting her point in the second set,
who’s ranked No. 13 in the serve going early was cru- then was down a break to
world, overpowered the cial to beating Kasatkina. Pera in the third. Keys said
third-seeded Kasatkina “I served pretty big today, her coach, Lindsay Daven-
of Russia 6-4, 6-3 with nine which was also (a) good port told her, “’I don’t care
aces — she won 84 per- key, of course,” Goerges what happens, just show
cent of her points on her said. “If you have good ser- me that you want it.’ And
first serve — to advance to vice games, you can put that was really all that I had
the final four at the WTA’s more pressure on the return to focus on, and I think that
opening clay-court tourna- games, and I think that was brought my level up.”
ment. a good combination.” Sevastova, ranked 16th,
Goerges, who won ear- Kasatkina, 20, had won her outlasted Pliskova in the
lier this year at the WTA’s past eight matches here opening set before win-
New Zealand event, will and got emotional when ning the second one going
face No. 8 seed Anastasija that run ended in her first away.
Sevastova of Latvia, who defense of a WTA crown. Pliskova, the twin sister of
ended the surprise run of “I was not able to hold my top-10 player Karolina Plis-
Kristyna Pliskova with a 6-4, tears after the match,” she kova, had upset two-time
6-0 victory. Julia Goerges reaches for the ball against Naomi Osaka during said. “It’s tough, but I’m Wimbledon winner Petra
American Madison Keys, a match, Thursday, April 5, 2018 at the Volvo Car Open tennis happy that I have this ex- Kvitova and No. 16 seed
the U.S. Open runner-up tournament in Charleston, S.C. perience now, and I went Elena Vesnina to make the
last year, also advanced, Associated Press through this and I’m pretty round of eight.q

Reed takes lead as Masters takes shape without Tiger in mix

By DOUG FERGUSON he got out of position, and foot par putt on the 16th
AP Golf Writer his 6-under 66 put him atop to atone for several birdie
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The the leaderboard for the first putts in the 10-foot range
Masters is living up to its time in a major. he missed. Johnson had a
hype with some of the big- “I kept myself out of trouble 68 and was six shots behind,
gest names and hottest and allowed my putter to along with PGA champion
games in contention going do the work,” Reed said. Justin Thomas, who had a
into the weekend. He was two shots ahead of 67.
Except for two guys who Marc Leishman, who boldly Eleven of the 17 players still
generated so much of the took on a high risk when he under par at the halfway
buzz. hooked a hooded 5-iron point can be found among
Tiger Woods hit another around the trees and bare- the top 20 in the world.
shot into Rae’s Creek, ly over the water on the Reed, who led Augusta
didn’t make a birdie until par-5 15th to about 6 feet State to a pair of NCAA ti-
the 13th hole and wound for an eagle. tles, opened with a 25-foot
up with a 3-over 75, leav- Reed was at 9-under 135. birdie putt and zoomed
ing him 13 shots behind Right behind? Five major into the lead after two
Patrick Reed. Woods was champions, for starters. more short birdie putts. He he started — a tee shot into could have come off there.
more concerned with stick- Henrik Stenson (70) was four ran off three straight bird- the trees on the right and But I made some nice par
ing around for the week- shots behind. Rory McIlroy ies again at the end of the a three putts for a double saves and was able to
end than chasing a green (71) is off to his best 36-hole front nine, holing a 15-foot bogey, and then a drive grind out some phenom-
jacket. start in seven years and is birdie at No. 9 to stretch his to the left and three more enal second-shot iron shots
Phil Mickelson matched looking as poised as ever lead. putts for a bogey. Just like and good two-putt bird-
his worst score ever at Au- to capture the fourth leg He is the only player in the that he was behind, and it ies.”
gusta National with a 79 to of the career Grand Slam. field to make birdie on ev- kept getting worse. Mickelson won the Mexico
make the cut on the num- Jordan Spieth lost his two- ery par 5 both rounds. He made bogey from the Championship last month,
ber, leaving him 14 shots shot lead on the first hole “The par 5s are huge middle of the fairway on and at age 47 and with
behind. and was on the verge of around here to be able to No. 7. He three-putted from three green jackets, there
Even without them, the getting left behind until he pick up ground on,” Reed long range on the par-5 was talk he could become
show is just getting started. made a key par putt to said. “You’re not going to eighth. And he was head- the oldest Masters cham-
Reed, who has never seri- close out the front nine with shoot a low score if you ed for a 41 on the front nine pion.
ously contended on a big a 40, and then salvaged a don’t.” until he made a 10-foot par Those hopes faded when
stage outside of the Ryder 74 to join McIlroy just five For everyone else, it was putt. he bounced around in the
Cup, had birdies on half of shots behind. about jockeying for posi- “I’m still in this golf tourna- trees at No. 9 and made
the holes he played Friday. Looming was Dustin John- tion. ment,” Spieth said. “With triple bogey and hit into
That was more than enough son, the No. 1 player in the Spieth was happy to be the way the back nine was Rae’s Creek on No. 12 for a
to atone for the few times world, who made a 45- near the top after the way playing today, the wheels double bogey. q