Two of the tournament’s biggest names remain on a collision course for a hard-hitting final in the Swiss Alps as third-seeded Estonian Anett Kontaveit and second-seeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens rounded out the semifinal field at the Ladies Championships Gstaad.
The possibility for a dream final between two big-hitters in Gstaad continues as Estonian third seed Anett Kontaveit and second-seeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens made light work of their respective quarterfinal opponents to join Czech Tereza Martincova and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in the last four in the Swiss Alps. Looking to battle past the rain and their last eight opponents, Kontaveit powered past big-hitting German Carina Witthoeft in straight sets, while Bertens did the same to overcome good friend Johanna Larsson of Sweeden.
The final match of the day on Centre Court, Kontaveit, one of the in-form players on the WTA tour at the moment, put up a clinical display of power tennis to move past eighth seed Witthoeft 6-2, 6-4 late in the evening in southwest Switzerland. The ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion was dominant on serve in the opening set, breaking the German immediately in the first game and subsequently in the seventh as well to eventually close out the first set 6-2.
The second set was slightly more competitive, as Witthoeft’s powerful groundstrokes, similar to Kontaveit’s, began to find their mark. Despite being broken back immediately following a break of the German’s serve in the fifth game, the Estonian third seed continued where she left off, snatching the break right back to go up 4-3, riding that advantage to ultimately serve out the match on her first time of asking and book a place in the semifinals in the Swiss Alps.
“It was really good to get on court today. I thought I managed to play pretty well, the conditions weren’t easy – but tried to stay focused and do my thing,” said Kontaveit, the world number 32. “[Another semifinal] really great, I’ve been having good results recently and it’s definitely building up my confidence, and I’m feeling good on court.”
“I felt like I played really well in the key points. I managed to turn [those moments] to my side, and that was the difference today. All the hard work is starting to pay off. I’ve gained confidence and had some good wins, so I’m super excited about this year,” commented the Estonian third seed, who is enjoying a career year following wins over Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and two-time major winner Angelique Kerber this spring in Stuttgart and Rome and her first career title on the grass of the Ricoh Open in the Netherlands.
Asked about her next opponent, unseeded Czech Tereza Martincova, who beat German Antonia Lottner 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to reach the last four meeting with Kontaveit, the 21-year-old said, “I don’t think I’ve played her before. She’s had a really good week, so it’s definitely going to be a tough match. She’s beaten some good players, so she’s definitely confident. I’m just going to try to fight every point as I do, and play my game,” concluded the third seed here in Gstaad, who earlier this year reached her first tour-level final in Biel-Bienne.
“It’s tough [to play a friend]. Sometimes, you’re thinking like, where I’m going to serve and she thinks I’m going there, so it’s a little bit of a mental game also,” said Bertens. “You don’t want to scream come on to often, which you maybe normally do, but I think it was a good match.”
“I think playing aggressive, serving well, putting as many balls in the court but in an aggressive way and letting her make the mistakes [worked] — I did that pretty good,” concluded the second seed on her quarterfinal performance.
Bertens will next face Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who eased past unseeded German Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 6-3 to book her matchup with last year’s French Open semifinalist tomorrow on Centre Court in Gstaad.
