Arruabarrena-Veci, Svitolina advance in Cali

16 February 2013 05:10

Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena-Veci was among the winners at the WTA Copa Bionaire event in Colombia on Friday.

The second seed won her quarter-final in Cali in straight sets, defeating Brazilian Teliana Pereira 6-3 6-4 in 81 minutes.

With top seed Mandy Minella dumped out of the tournament on Thursday, Arruabarrena-Veci – who is ranked 81 in the world – claimed favouritism.

And she showed why in a punishing display against Pereira, winning 84 percent of points on her first serve and claiming three breaks.

Joining her in the last four was Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, with the sixth seed defeating Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino 6-3 7-5 in 70 minutes.

Fourth seed Alexandra Panova of Russia was a surprise loser, with Argentine Paula Ormaechea recording an impressive 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-2 win while the day's other match saw Colombia's Catalina Castano defeat Kazakh Sesil Karatantcheva 5-7 6-3 6-3.