[8] P. Kvitova d. D. Collins 7-6(2) 6-0
Petra Kvitova continues her quest for her third Major title and the crown of n.1 in the world by disposing of unseeded Danielle Collins in the first semifinal of the 2019 Australian Open.
The “semifinals rookie” started her match with the right attitude, keeping her nerves in check and hitting her winners whenever she had the chance. She was the one to draw first blood at 2-2, taking advantage of 2 unforced errors and a double fault by Kvitova to go to serve at 3-2 with a break. However, Kvitova reacted immediately after the change of ends and at her fifth break point leveled the score at 3-3.
The probable key moment of the match came at 4-4 when the Tournament Referee Wayne McEwen entered the court and told chair umpire Carlos Ramos that the roof would be closed for the remainder of the match. In fact, at that moment the Heat Stress Scale, an indicator created by scientists at the University of Sydney to summarize in one number the heat factors that can be harmful for players, had reached the level of 5, which according to the new policy at the Australian Open requires all play to stop on outside courts and roofs to be closed on roofed courts.
The new roof on Rod Laver Arena closed in a few minutes, and that was a huge boon for Kvitova, a lot more susceptible to heat conditions than Florida-born Collins. The Czech player became more and more effective from the baseline as the games went by: she comfortably won the first set tie-break by 7 points to 2 and then proceeded to deliver a bagel in the second set, closing the match after 1 hour, 34 minutes.
Kvitova remains the only player in the draw not to have lost a set in the tournament and on Saturday will face the winner of the second semifinal between Osaka and Pliskova. The final will also decide who will be n.1 in the WTA ranking at the end of the tournament.
