Angelique Kerber of Germany needed only 1 hour 11 minutes to defeat Australian Samantha Stosur in the first semifinal at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open: 6-2, 6-2. The 2nd seed Kerber played solid and consistent tennis throughout the match. She covered the court well keeping balls in play often leading to errors by Stosur, the 5th seed. This was the sixth meeting of the two players, now with three wins apiece.
Kerber needs only one more win to ensure a place in the WTA Finals in Singapore at the end of October. With this win Kerber will be in her fifth WTA final in 2015. She won the previous four titles in which she reached the finals (Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham, and Stanford). The left-handed German was very pleased with advancing to the final. In her post match interview she said, “It is my first time here in Hong Kong and I really enjoyed my whole week. I had a great four matches and look forward to being in the final and playing good tennis again.”
Stosur started the third game with a double fault. Then, despite setting herself up in strong positions, she gifted a couple points to Kerber to give Kerber the early break. Kerber held serve easily to confirm the break and was able to break Stosur again in the fifth game to go up 4 -1 as the Australian’s unforced errors accumulated. Stosur was unable to capitalize on two break point opportunities in the next game giving Kerber a 5-1 edge. After Stosur held serve to stay in the set, Kerber closed it out in just 31 minutes. The Australian won only 52% of her service points compared to 67% for Kerber.
Kerber capitalized on a couple of unforced errors, an untimely double fault and a weak drop shot by Stosur to break at love in the first game of the second set. Stosur played the next three points brilliantly to earn three breakpoint chances. She converted the third break point to get back on serve. However, Kerber broke right back to go up 2-1. She broke Stosur again in the fifth game to go up 4-1. Stosur saved two match points on her serve in the seventh game to stay in the match. Kerber saved three breakpoints in the eighth game to win the match. In the second set, Kerber won 58% of her service points while winning 64% of the return points.
Kerber was the more consistent player today and came up with good serves and nice passing shots when she needed them. Stosur had flashes of brilliance in the match but too many unforced errors and sketchy serving. This is probably the last match for Stosur in 2015. Kerber will face Jelana Jankovic in the final tomorrow.
Jelena Jankovic of Serbia bested American Venus Williams in straight sets: 6-4, 7-5 in a tightly contested match in the second semifinal in Hong Kong. Both players were in good form utilizing a variety of shots and resiliency in an entertaining battle. Both are coming off recent wins in the Asian swing, Jankovic in Guangzhou and Williams in Wuhan. This loss might eliminate Williams’ chances to reach the WTA Finals.
Williams and Jankovic have played twelve matches over the years, dating back to 2005, winning six each. The major difference between the players today was the ability to take advantage of breakpoint opportunities. Williams, the 3rd seed, converted only two of sixteen chances (13%), while Jankovic, the 4th seed, converted four of nine (44%). Williams did not look comfortable in her service games. Similar to Kerber in the first match, Jankovic kept the ball in play with good court coverage and was able to take advantage of her opponent’s mistakes.
Each player held serve for the first eight games. Williams handed the ninth game to the Serb with three double faults and an unforced error to give Jankovic a 5-4 lead. Williams was up in the tenth game 15-40, but four quick errors gave Jankovic the game and the set.
Williams started the third set strongly going up 3-0 with a couple of aces, heavy groundstrokes and good movement on the court, aided by two double faults by Jankovic. The American went up 15-40 in the fourth game, but Jankovic saved three breakpoints with well-placed shots and some unforced errors by Williams. Jankovic was able to break Williams’ serve again in the fifth game to get back on serve, again helped by two double faults and poorly executed shots by Williams. Williams was broken again in the ninth game to go down 4-5, but broke back in the tenth stepping into the court and ripping winners to level the match at 5-5. Jankovic had another break of serve in next game to go up 6-5. She served out the match after being down 0-30 in the final game assisted by four unforced errors by Williams.
After the match, an emotional Jankovic said, “Beating Venus was amazing, she is such a great champion and we have had such tough matches in the past. I’m glad I was able to win and get in the finals.”
Kerber holds a 4 -1 advantage over Jankovic in head-to-head matches. The most recent encounter went to Kerber in three sets in the round of 32 in Wuhan at the end of September.
