by Simon Daish
A dramatic match of two halves, no.7 seed Ortega looked to be cruising at the halfway point after racing into a strong lead. However, Lovet’s resolve really shone through from that moment on, clawing her way back into the tie before eventually completing an astounding 4-3 comeback (7-11, 3-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7).
Cuban celebrations didn’t stop there with Lovet’s fellow compatriot Daniela Fonseca Carrazana also moving through to the semi-finals in Rosario.
One of the standout competitors of the week with a host of impressive results to her name, second seed Fonseca Carrazana has rightly earnt praise for her comeback ability. But on this occasion, the margin of victory was more significant with Dominican Republic’s Esmerlyn Castro claiming just one of the five games contested (11-1, 13-15, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6).
Simply outstanding from Fonseca Carrazana and she’ll require another big effort later in the day with Guatemala’s Mabelyn Enriquez lying in wait in the last four. Fourth seed Enriquez, like Fonseca Carrazana, will draw confidence from her commanding display in the quarter-finals, besting London 2012 qualifier Paula Medina by a notable 4-1 score-line (11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6).
The fourth name into the semi-finals draw is none other than Mexico’s Yadira Silva. Chasing a ticket to what would be her fourth Olympic Games, top seed Silva overcame a challenging start on her way to a straight games victory over Dominican Republic’s Eva Brito (12-10, 11-9, 13-11, 11-7). Silva is now just one win away from the qualification play-off with Idalys Lovet the next target on her radar.
Three fixtures remain in the women’s singles race with the semi-finals scheduled from 16.00 local time and the all-important qualification match taking place from 20.00.
