BASTAD, Sweden -- Mona Barthel of Germany beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 7-6 in the Swedish Open quarterfinals on Friday.
The 54th-ranked Kanepi was the highest-ranked player left in the tournament after early defeats for the top eight seeded players.
Barthel, chasing her third WTA title, next plays Silvia Soler-Espinosa. The Spaniard -- a first-time finalist in Strasbourg in May -- beat Russia's Alexandra Panova 6-3, 6-2.
In the other quarterfinals, Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa defeated Spain's Lara Arruabarrena 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, while Slovakia's Jana Cepelova beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-5.