American world No. 36 Olivia Blatchford upset fourth-seeded Samantha Cornett Thursday afternoon in the $15, 000 CourtCare Open quarterfinals in Preston, England.
Blatchford, seeded eighth, won the opening game 11-6, but the Canadian world No. 32 responded by winning the second and third games 11-8, 11-5. The Wilton, Connecticut-native then went the distance to win the final two games and match in five 11-8, 11-9.
Friday afternoon’s semifinal match between Blatchford and Whitlock will stream live at 1:30pm ET on www.livestream.com.
The CourtCare Open serves as a warm up for the $150, 000 Allam British Open—a World Series event—next week on England’s eastern coast in Hull, where Blatchford is a qualifier.
Last month, the twenty-two-year old captured her fifth career professional title—the $5, 000 Paderborn Open—before reaching the quarterfinals of the $15, 000 Irish Open.