Romanian-Japanese duo Niculescu-Doi advances to semis at Shenzhen Open

The pair made up of Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu and Japanese tennis player Misaki Doi qualified on Wednesday for the semifinals of the women's doubles at the WTA tournament in Shenzen (China) - Shenzhen Open, with total prizes worth 775,000 US dollars, after defeating main seeds Elise Mertens (Belgium)/Arina Sabalenka (Belarus), with a score of 7-5, 6-4.

Niculescu and Doi managed to win the event after one hour and 30 minutes.

The Romanian - Japanese duo secured a cheque worth 7,400 US dollars and 110 WTA doubles points. In the semis they will face off Chinese pair Ying-Ying Duan/Saisai Zheng, seeded 3rd, who won on Wednesday the event against Romanian-Slovenian duo Raluca Olaru/Dalila Jakupovic, with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Monica Niculescu won two Shenzhen Open titles in the women's doubles, in 2014 next to Klara Koukalova (the Czech Republic) and in 2016, alongside US player Vania King. In 2018, the women's doubles title was won by Simona Halep/Irina Begu.