Tennis : Martic defeats Bencic in straight sets to reach Charleston semi-final

Croatia's Petra Martic defeated Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in straight sets – 6-3, 6-4 - to reach the first Premier-level semi-final of her career at the Charleston Open in South Carolina, USA on Friday. The 28-year-old, world number 53 and 16th seed, broke Bencic's serve once in each set and wrapped up the match in just over one hour.Bencic's defeat means that for the first time in WTA history the first 14 tournaments of the season will be won by 14 different players - the Swiss had clinched the Dubai Championships tennis earlier this year. For her next match, Martic will face the winner of the quarter-final between fifth seed, and former Charleston champion, Caroline Wozniacki and 15th seed Maria Sakkari, who knocked out defending champion Kiki Bertens on Thursday.