Qualifier Monica Puig has continued her dream run in Sydney after defeating Australia’s Sam Stosur 6-4, 6-4, to reach the semifinals at the Apia International.
Puig, who had to win three qualifying matches to reach the main draw in Sydney, started the match the sharpest after breaking Stosur in the first game of the match to lead 2-0. The world No.94 was still facing tough resistance from Stosur after fending off break points in the sixth and eighth games of the match. The hard work invested into the match paid off for Puig after a backhand unforced error from Stosur handed the Puerto Rican the opening set.
The positive momentum from Puig continued into the second set. An outstanding forehand cross-court shot gave her a chance to break for 2-1. The 22-year-old grabbed the break after another costly error came off of Stosur’s racket. The aggressive play from Puig proved too strong for Stosur, who was unable to break back. The Puerto Rican dropped only three points in her service games throughout the second set. The victory was sealed when a return from Stosur went out.
The victory is Puig’s first win over Stosur on her fifth attempt. The impressive performance produced by Puig consisted of 13 aces, 27 winners and 17 unforced errors. The world No.94 will now play in her first semifinal on the WTA Tour since the Pattaya Open last February. Following her win, an emotional Puig spoke about her delight.
“I’ve been working so hard on every aspect of my game, that’s why I got a bit emotional after this win,” Puig said.
“It was a tough preseason for me. It was a difficult year for me last year so it’s really nice to see some of my best tennis so early in the season.
“I’m just really excited for what is to come”.
In the last four Puig will play either Belinda Bencic or Ekaterina Makarova.
Top seed Simona Halep endured a roller coaster match against world No.11 Karolina Pliskova. The world No.2 is still recovering from an Achilles injury which troubled her during her second round encounter against Carolina Garcia. Despite the injury concern, the Romanian managed to book her place in the last four with a 6-4, 7-5, win.
As the encounter got underway Halep enjoyed an encouraging start after grabbing back-to-back breaks against her error-stricken opponent to lead 4-1. The top seed almost lost the advantage towards the end when the Czech broke back to love to retrieve one of the breaks. Serving for the set at 5-4, Halep was in danger of losing the advantage when Pliskova had a break point chance to level at 5-5. Halep successfully fended off the break point before holding her serve to take the opening set.
There was still more trouble ahead for Halep in the second set after a series of breaks of serve. Identical to the first set the world No.2 broke to lead 2-1, however, this time her lead was lost four games later when Pliskova broke back to level 4-4. The break by Pliskova was the first of four consecutive breaks exchanged between the two. Edging herself ahead, Halep was tasked with serving the match out at 6-5. Aided by a series of errors from her rival, the top seed took the match after a forehand from Pliskova went long.
The match was far from perfect for the 24-year-old who produced 33 unforced errors compared to 22 winners. In addition Halep produced two aces and converted 5/12 breaks points to seal the win after an hour and 38 minutes.
As well as booking her place into the last four in Sydney, there was also positive signs regarding Halep’s ongoing injury. During her press conference the world No.2 said that she experienced minor pain.
“I only had a little bit of pain in the second set, I feel ok” Halep said.
In the last four Halep will play Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian experienced a tough opening set before easing her way to a 7-6(1), 6-0, win over world No.19 Sara Errani. Kuznetsova is currently ranked 25th in the world, a distant position from her career best of 2 back in 2007. During a recent interview, the Russian has admitted that she is currently encountering difficulty on the tour.
“Now I’m not going through a pleasant part of the career,” the world No.25 told apiainternational.com.au.
“I mean, I feel a bit bad saying that it’s not my good year because some girls dream about this, but I mean for me it’s not good enough.
Halep has played Kuznetsova on five previous occasions, leading the head-to-head 3-2. Their last meeting was at the 2014 Stuttgart Open when Kuznetsova won in straight sets.
