Tennis: Pliskova ends French presence to reach Roland Garros last four

Paris: World No. 3 Karolina Pliskova reached the French Open semifinals with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory against Caroline Garcia, ending the French presence in the main draw on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Czech, who had never got past the second round here before, mastered windy conditions to set up a meeting with either Romania's Simona Halep or Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
Relying on her powerful serve and groundstrokes, the 25-year-old Pliskova also benefitted from 28th seed Garcia's numerous unforced errors.
She sealed the victory in a tight contest on her first match point with a forehand winner down the line.