St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy 2022: Maria Sakkari holds off Elise Mertens, Jelena Ostapenko battles past Aliaksandra Sasnovich

Day 5 of the 2022 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy saw the quarterfinal matches come to a conclusion.

Top seed Maria Sakkari got the better of Elise Mertens in a hard-fought match, while Jelena Ostapenko had to play some of her best tennis to overcome Aliaksandra Sasnovich in three sets. Anett Kontaveit, meanwhile, defeated Belinda Bencic to win her 18th consecutive match on indoor hardcourts.

Here are the major results from Day 5 of the 2022 St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy:

Maria Sakkari quells a spirited challenge from Elise Mertens

World No. 7 Maria Sakkari had to work hard to subdue Elise Mertens. The first set featured plenty of momentum shifts, with each player saving multiple set points, but ultimately the Greek came out on top.

Sakkari then raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set as Mertens' level dipped a little. But the Belgian made one final stand, saving a match point and breaking her opponent's serve to stay alive. She then held serve for 2-5.

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Mertens held four break points in the next game, but failed to convert any of them. Sakkari eventually closed out the proceedings on her fourth match point for a 7-6 (7), 6-2 win.

Anett Kontaveit tops Belinda Bencic to continue her dominance on indoor hardcourts

Belinda Bencic fought well, but Anett Kontaveit proved too good for her as she won the match 7-6 (7), 6-2. Both players were evenly matched in the opening set, with Kontaveit playing the key points well to clinch it 9-7.

The second set was a bit one-sided though, as the Estonian raced to a 4-0 lead rather quickly. Bencic did well to get one of the breaks back, but it was too little too late.

Kontaveit soon secured another break of serve and then closed out the match without much trouble. She'll go up against Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals.

Jelena Ostapenko edges past Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a three-set battle

Jelena Ostapenko needed to dig deep to secure a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich. It was a competitive match from start to finish, featuring some quality first-strike tennis along with some wild misses. Combined, the two players hit a total of 130 winners and 125 errors.

The Latvian was just a bit better over the course of the match, especially in the deciding set, where she saved 11 break points.

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By reaching the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Ostapenko has recorded her best result of the year so far.

Irina-Camelia Begu has it easy against Tereza Martincova

Irina-Camelia Begu recorded a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over Tereza Martincova in the first quarterfinal of the day. Martincova had her chances in the match, but didn't capitalize on them.

Begu has thus reached her first WTA semifinal since August 2021. She'll square off against top seed Maria Sakkari for a spot in the title round.