ISTANBUL, Turkey – Barbora Strycova continued to battle through the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup draw, recovering from a first set whitewash at the hands of talented teenage qualifier Elena Rybakina to make her first semifinal of the year 0-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 in exactly two hours.

The Czech had already come through two gruelling three-setters to reach the quarterfinals, needing two hours and 42 minutes to overcome No.9 seed Viktoria Kuzmova 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round and two hours and 12 minutes to make her way past Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 in the second round. For the first half hour today, it seemed as though those marathons had taken their toll on the 33-year-old, who required medical treatment twice but was unable to avoid a bagel blitz as Rybakina delivered a masterclass of controlled power.