Defending champion Kristina Mladenovic beat Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-3 to reach the semifinals at the Ladies Trophy in St. Petersburg. The French player scored her seventh consecutive win in the Russian tournament.
Mladenovic won 78 % of points on her first serve and hit seven aces to break a losing streak against Siniakova, who won two of her three previous head-to-head matches. Siniakova won 69 percent of her first serve points and hit six aces, but made 31 unforced errors to Mladenovic’s 12.
Mladenovic won 93 % of her first service points in the opening set and never faced a break point. The French player held her first three service games without dropping a point, but could not break serve until the final game of the set. The French player finally earned the break point in the 10th game with a forehand winner. She converted her first break with her backhand pass to win the first set.
Siniakova got an early break with her passing shots in the opening game of the second set. Mladenovic broke back with a forehand winner to draw level to 2-2 and reeled off three consecutive games to open up a 5-2 lead. Siniakova hit a forehand volley, when Mladenovic was serving for the match at 5-3, but the French player won the final four points to close out the match in 78 minutes.
“I thought it was a very good match. . I think she is a good mover. I think the first set was such high quality on the serve from both of us. It was very difficult to have opportunities to break each other”, said Mladenovic.
Number 5 seed Julia Goerges cruised past 18-year-old Russian qualifier Elena Rybakova 6-3 6-3 to score the 18th win in her last 19 matches. The German player has kept her hope to break into the top-10 after winning three titles in Moscow, Zhuhai and Auckland.
Rybakina broke serve in the second game to take a 2-0 lead and held serve for 3-0. Goerges broke back in the fifth game to claw her way back to 2-3 with a backhand winner. In the sixth game Rybakina wasted a 40-0 lead with two double faults and an error into the net at 3-3 and dropped her serve.
Goerges held serve at love before getting her third consecutive break to close out the opening set with a streak of six consecutive games from 0-3 down. The German player hit 13 winners to only seven unforced errors. Goerges got an early break to take a 2-0 lead in the second set. Rybakina, who won her first WTA match against Caroline Garcia in three sets, broke back at 2-1 to stop a losing streak of eight consecutive games won by Goerges.
Goerges broke serve at 3-2 after Rybakina hit a forehand long. Rybakina earned four break points at 4-2, but Goerges fended them off with two aces. Goerges wrapped up the match after 77 minutes after Rybakina sent her return service wide.
“Rybakina is a big hitter, and she hit some very big shots. I had to make sure that I moved very well, and neutralized them. I tried to be aggressive as well. After a slow start and a very good star from her, I got better into the match”, said Goerges.
Petra Kvitova cruised past Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 in a match between two Grand Slam champions to reach the semifinals at St. Petersburg. Kvitova broke five times to clinch the win in just 58 minutes.
Kvitova hit eight winners and broke three times to take a bagel win in the first set. The double Wimbledon champion got the break in the sixth game after Ostapenko made two double faults.
Kvitova did not face a break point in the second set. She came back from 0-30 down in the seventh game which featured three deuces. The Czech player hit a backhand return winner to reach the semifinals.
Kvitova hit four aces and dropped just three points on serve. She won 89 percent of her first serve points and hit 13 winners to 10 unforced errors. Ostapenko produced 8 winners to 16 unforced errors.
“At the end of her last match, I found my rhythm a little bit. I knew I had to play a little bit better today against someone who is playing very aggressive. I had to stay focused on every point, which I did today”, said Kvitova.
