The quarter finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo took place today. Seven of the top eight players were still in contention. Caroline Wozniacki battled past Angelique Kerber in three sets setting up a semifinal against Belinda Bencic who beat Garbine Muguruza in straight sets. Agnieszka Radwanska beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets and will take on Dominika Cibulkova, who took her second win in one month over Ana Ivanovic after beating the Serbian player in New York.
Caroline Wozniacki edged past Angelique Kerber 6-2 2-6 6-3 in the quarter final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo to set up a semifinal clash against 18-year-old Swiss rising star Belinda Bencic who edged Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7-1) 6-1.
Wozniacki eased past Kerber in the first set with 6-2. Kerber, who led 6-4 in their past 10 head-to-head matches and won three of their four most recent clashes, bounced back breaking three times to cruise through to 6-2 in the second set.
The German went up a break in the first game of the third set but Wozniacki broke back. Wozniacki fended off five break points in the fifth game before taking the third set with 6-3 after two hours and 12 minutes
“That was a long game and holding that definitely game some confidence”, said Wozniacki
In the semifinal Wozniacki will face this year’s Eastbourne and Toronto champion Belinda Bencic who beat Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (7-1) 6-1. Both players traded breaks before the first set came down to the tie-break. Wozniacki battled past Muguruza with 7-1 in the tie-break after 67 minutes. Bencic did not convert three break point chances on Muguruza’s first service game. The Swiss player broke serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead.
Bencic had to save three consecutive break points in the fourth game of the second set to hold her serve for 3-1 before breaking twice to win the next three games. Bencic converted on her first match point for 6-1 after 1 hour and 43 minutes. The young Swiss player has reached her fourth quarter final this year after s’Hertogenbosch, Eastbourne and Toronto.
Bencic leads 3-1 over Wozniacki and has defeated the Danish player in all the three matches played this year in Indian Wells, Eastbourne and Toronto.
Former Tokyo champion Agnieszka Radwanska overcame a tough first set against big server Karolina Pliskova to take a 7-5 6-2 win in the third quarter final. Radwanska, who won all her three head-to-head matches against Pliskova, broke serve for 3-1 but the Czech player broke back for 4-5 before saving three set points in the next game. Radwanska clinched the set as Pliskova sent a volley into the net. The Polish star got a break in the fourth game for 3-1 in the second set en route to cruising to a 6-2 win the second set. Pliskova saved two match points at 2-5 in the second set, but Radwanska converted on her third opportunity for 6-2 to reach the semifinals in Tokyo for the fourth time in seven appearances.
“We recently played on the grass so I really knew what to expect. I also saw her playing here so I knew she was playing really great tennis. My hands are a bit sore returning those 190 km serves but I am good and ready for the next one. I am used to being one of the smallest. I am used to playing against girls who hit it pretty hard. It’s always a strong tournament here, so I am happy to be in the semifinals again”, said Radwanska.
In the fourth quarter final former Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova knocked out defending champion and number 2 seed Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to set up a semifinal against Radwanska.
Ivanovic broke serve at deuce in the fifth game. Cibulkova broke back twice in the opening set which came down to the tie-break. There were five mini-breaks in the first six points of the breaker. Ivanovic clawed her way back from 2-4 to 5-5 but Cibulkova won the next two points to win the tie-break with 7-5. Cibulkova got a double break in the third and in the seventh games. Ivanovic recovered one of the two breaks, but dropped her serve for the sixth time in the match. Cibulkova, who beat Ivanovic at this year’s US Open in New York, has reached her first semifinal of the year.
“Today was my best match here in Tokyo. I was feeling really good on the court. I have been playing each match better and better and today I was just sticking to my plan. Everything went perfectly today. It was a really tough match. I am playing high energy tennis and I am putting a lot in because I have to compensate that I am not so tall. I don’t always serve so well, but I am working on it”; said Cibulkova
