TENNIS – Kristina Mladenovic came back from a set dwon to knock out Simona Halep with 2-6 6-0 7-6 (7-4) to reach the semifinal of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. Mladenovic broke serve in the 8th game but Halep broke back as Mladenovic served out for the match. Mladenovic held her nerve and earned two match points- Diego Sampaolo
Mladenovic clinched the tie-break with 7-4 scoring her fifth win against a top-10 player. Mladenovic had already beaten Halep in their only previous head-to-head match at the 2011 Indoor Tournament in Paris
“It was an amazing match and a big win for me today. I don’t know if it’s the best one. I have had a few matches where I have beaten top-10 players but’s an amazing feeling to beat Simona in this way because she is such a good player”, said Mladenovic
“I think she was solid in the first set and I was struggling with my rhythm and the sun. In the second I just tried to start over again and be aggressive and she perhaps gave me a couple of unforced errors that got me back in the match. I think it was a great quality match especially because it’s on grass and it’s always tough to find a rhythm”, said Mladenovic
Mladenovic will take on Karolina Pliskova who beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2 6-2 in one hour and 4 minutes. Suarez Navarro led 3-1 in their previous head-to-head matches but big-server Pliskova was the favourite on the grass surface. Pliskova opened up a 4-1 lead in the first set. Suarez Navarro got her only break of the match in the sixth game but Pliskova broke again before wrapping up the first set with 6-2. Pliskova wrapped up the match on her third match point with a double 6-2.
“I wasn’t really thinking if she is Top 10 or not. I just went on the court. I had played her three times already this year and it was always a tough match. While she is playing really well on hardcourt and clay, I think grass is not the best surface for her. I just tried to play really aggressive”, said Pliskova.
Sabine Lisicki beat Daniela Hantuckova 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 setting up an all-German semifinal against Angelique Kerber. Lisicki took a 5-3 lead but dropped her serve. Lisicki won the tie-break with 7-2. Lisicki, a former Wimbledon finalist, broke serve for 3-2 in the second set and won the next three games to clinch the win with 6-2
Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova from Czech Republic 6-2 6-4. Siniakova produced one of the major upsets of the tournament earlier this week when she beat another German Andrea Petkovic.
“It was a very close match. The score wasn’t so close but every game went to deuce. Siniakova played very well”, said Kerber.
Kerber leads 5-0 in their previous head-to-head matches against Lisicki.
