Fil-German Lehnert falls short in Braunschweig open

Katharina Lehnert of the Philippines during the 28th SEA Games tennis women’s doubles semifinal against Thailand held at the Kallang Tennis Centre, Singapore Sports Hub on June 13, 2015. The Philippines beat Thailand 2-1 to advance to the finals. INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

Filipino-German tennis star Katharina Lehnert made the singles semifinals of the $15,000 Braunschweig women’s open but missed the trip to the final after bowing to her Swiss opponent Saturday.

The 21-year-old Lehnert, who hails from the same German city, fell to Jill Teichmann, 6-1, 6-2, in the semis.

Now ranked 620th, Lehnert made it deep into the draw by besting Karen Barbat of Denmark (6-4, 6-4) in the quarterfinals, Anna Klasen of Germany (7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5)) in the second round, and Guadalupe Perez-Rojas of Argentina (6-3, 6-2).

She won the same title in 2012, for her first ITF singles crown as an 18-year-old campaigner.

Last week, she got runner-up honors in Oldenzaal, Netherlands.

Fresh from winning silver medals in the Southeast Asian Games in doubles and team event, Lehnert is looking for her second singles title in 2015 after ruling the Sharm El Sheik in Egypt early this year.