In the first semifinal, 4th seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium in a well-played match complete with momentum swings, frustration and complaints. The three set match (6-3, 2-6, 7-5) lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes in very hot and humid conditions. After the match, Jankovic said she was ”exhausted”.
Both players started the match hitting the ball with pace, accuracy and good placement. The Serb was able to break Wickmayer’s serve in the sixth game and then easily consolidate the break. The Belgian started showing signs of frustration as Jankovic increased the pace of the game taking shot preparation time away from Wickmayer. Jankovic called for a medical time out to have her right forearm treated, but the injury did not seem to be a factor in the match. Wickmayer was able to hold her next service game to get the set to 5-3, but she was not happy with her game or the chair umpire at this point. Jankovic closed out the first set with a nice serve down the tee. Jankovic only faced two break points in the set winning 78% of her service points and coming up with good serves when she needed them. She was also able to take advantage of Wickmayer’s second serves – winning 78% of second return points.
Each player did not seem happy with their play even though holding their first service game in the second set. Wickmayer’s serve was broken in the third game as frustration and errors mounted. However, she broke right back with penetrating shots and a double fault by Jankovic to level the set at 2-2. The momentum swung in Wickmayer’s favour as the Belgian showed a much higher level of play – executing her shots and putting pressure on Jankovic. As Wickmayer got past her frustration, Jankovic’s increased due to some ill-advised shot selections and adverse line calls. Jankovic’s first serve percentage for the set was only 40%, she won only 30% of her service points. Wickmayer went on to win the set 6-2.
Jankovic started the third set with a break of Wickmayer’s serve and easily consolidated the break. Wickmayer leveled the set at 4 all, breaking back at love in the eighth game. At this point in the match, Jankovic appeared fatigued and Wickmayer was playing more aggressively. Wickmayer went ahead 5-4, her first lead in the third set. Jankovic saved a match point in her next service game to get the set to 5-5. The Belgian went up 40-0 in the next came but Jankovic was able to come back and get the break. She then saved two break points on her serve to take the set (7-5) and the match.
In this tournament, Jankovic faced Elena Vesnina in the first round, Francesca Schiavone in the second round and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Earlier this year, Jankovic reached the final in Indian Wells and the semifinals in Cincinnati. She also won the title in Nanchang, a WTA 125K series event.
Wickmayer, fresh from her title in Tokyo last week, bested the 6th seed and defending champion, Monica Niculescu, in the quarterfinals on her road to the semifinals. She defeated Magda Linette in the opening round (her opponent in the final in Tokyo) and Monica Puig in the second round.
The second semifinal featured Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic and Sara Errani of Italy. Allertova reached her first ever WTA tour final by defeating Errani in straight sets: 7-5, 6-2. Allertova has not dropped a set this tournament. This was the pair’s first meeting. Allertova was shaky in her first service game, but went on to win the next five games in about 15 minutes. The Italian only won two points in those five games. Allertova’s forehand was working well, she was playing cleanly and seemed confident. She also benefitted from many Errani errors. Errani showed her defensive skills and fought back to win the next four games to level the match at 5 all. While her game was improving, mistakes started creeping into the Czech’s game. Allertova regained her composure and saved five break points to go ahead 6-5. Errani was up 40-15 to try to force a tiebreak, but a few Errani errors and beautiful forehands by Allertova gave the set to Allertova. In the first set, Errani only won 37% of her service points.
Allertova started the second set strongly, winning the first four games. The Italian served better, but Allertova was able combat this by creating angles on her shots. She was also able to execute quite a few down-the-line winners off both wings. In the fifth game, Errani was able to get one break back aided by two Allertova double faults. It looked like the determined Italian was staging another comeback. However, the players traded breaks over the next three games and Allertova won the set 6-2. Errani did not hold serve once in the second set.
Up until this tournament, Allertova’s best result in 2015 was reaching the quarterfinals in Prague, where she lost to Karolina Pliskova. The Czech has been moving up in the rankings: she was ranked 327 and 110 at year-end 2013 and 2014, respectively. She is currently standing at 74 and will move up again after this week. To get to the finals, she defeated world number 2, Simona Halep of Romania, in the quarterfinals; Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia in the second round; and Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany in the first round.
Errani has eight career singles titles, four of them coming in 2012. She reached her career high ranking of 5 in May of 2013. Her sole 2015 title came Rio De Janeiro in February. To reach the semifinals the Italian bested three players from the host country: 8th seed Saisai Zheng in the quarterfinals; Kai-Lin Zhang in the second round; and Ying-Ying Duan in the first round.
