Number 5 seed Petra Kvitova cruised past defending champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-1 in one hour and 23 minutes to reach the semifinal at the Sydney International.
The match finished around 11.30pm local time after it was interrupted by rain more times. The match was suspended early in the first set. The two players returned to the court several hours later, but rain started falling again.
Kerber got the first break of the match in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead, when Kvitova made a forehand error. The German player earned two chances for a double break in the seventh game, but Kvitova converted her third break-back chance in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4, when Kerber made a forehand error. Kvitova earned a set point on return with a forehand error and broke for the second consecutive time in the 10th game after a forced error to close out the first set 6-4 with her fourth consecutive winning game.
Kerber stopped the losing streak by holding serve in the first game of the second set. Kvitova earned three break points in the fourth game. Kerber saved them, but Kvitova converted her fourth chance with a forehand down the line return winner. In the sixth Kerber fended off three break points from 0-40 down, but Kvitova earned her fourth chance after a double fault. The Czech player got her double break for 5-1 and served out the match at 15 with a service winner in the seventh game setting up a semifinal match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who beat Kvitova at Wimbledon 6-4 4-6 6-0 at Wimbledon last summer.
Kvitova now leads 7-6 in her 13 head-to-head matches. She is bidding to win her second Sydney International title four years after her first triumph in 2015.
“It was worth the wait to get back on court. The weather has not been great this week and it’s not easy to wait for the matches when they are interrupted. I am glad I was glad to get back on court and play well. I have a tough opponent tomorrow. I lost to her at Wimbledon, so I am not thinking further than that. I am going step by step”, said Petra Kvitova in the post match interview.
In other matches Sasnovich beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-3 6-3, while Ashleigh Barty followed up her wins over Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko with a 6-3 6-3 win over last year’s Australian Open semifinalist and number 10 seed Elise Mertens.
Mertens got the first break in the third game for 2-1, but Barty won four consecutive games to open up a 5-2 lead with two breaks in the fourth and sixth games. Barty fended off a break-back point and served out the first set at 30 in the ninth game. Barty earned two break points in the first game of the second set, but Mertens saved them to hold serve. The Australian player got the first break of the second set in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Mertens broke straight back in the sixth game, but Barty reeled off the final three games with two consecutive breaks to seal the second set 6-3 after 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Barty will face Kiki Bertens, who beat Yulia Putintseva 6-2 6-2 in 61 minutes. Bertens dropped just eight points on serve and never faced a break point. The Dutch player converted four of her five break points.
“It was important to try and get ahead in games today. Elise is a great front runner I knew I had to try and take control of those first two or three points in games to give myself a chance. One sloppy game from me on serve in the second set was probably the only blemish”, said Barty.
