Top seed Angelique Kerber recovered from a slow start to fight her way past Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
It was a far from convincing start to the match by the Australian Open champion, who produced 17 unforced errors during the first set. Swiftly going behind 1-3, Kerber regained some of her form by winning three consecutive games to lead in the match for the first time. The roller coaster set resulted in Kerber being outplayed as Carla Suarez Navarro capitalized on her signature backhand shot to ease to a game away from the set. The Spaniard sealed the opening set by producing back-to-back aces.
Dropping a break immediately at the start of set No.2, Kerber was in danger of crashing out of the tournament. The momentum switch occurred as her Spanish opponent started to become more erratic with her shot-making. Clinching a double break with a blistering forehand down the line winner, the world No.2 took proceedings into a final set with ease after triumphing with a unreturned serve out wide.
The early scare was over for Kerber as her Spanish rival dramatically faded away on the court. Error after error flew off Suarez Navarro’s racket as a more aggressive playing Kerber raced to as 5-0 lead in the final set. Despite being in a dominant position, the German struggled to control her nerves whilst serving for the match. Saving a trio of break points, the top seed managed to close proceedings out after a serve down the line was unsuccessfully returned by Suarez Navarro.
“It’s always tough to play against Carla.” Kerber said during her on-court interview.
“She is a great player. I was trying to just play my game, trying to stay positive and focused. After the 1st set, it wasn’t so easy. It was really hot out here and I just tried to fight.”
It was a far from spectacular performance from Kerber, who produced 10 double faults and 39 unforced errors. Nevertheless, she will now play in her third consecutive Cincinnati semifinal. In the last four she will play either Agnieszka Radwanska or Simona Halep.
In the other section of the draw, Karolina Pliskova required almost two hours to see off Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. The Czech player was able to compensate for her below-par 44% first serves in rate with the help of 37 winners.
“It wasn’t easy today, she played some good tennis and me as well, I was happy with how I played, especially in these conditions – it’s pretty hot today,” Pliskova said. “In the first set I tried to play aggressive and not give her time to dictate the game.
“My serve wasn’t that good today in the first two sets, but in the third it improved a lot.”
Pliskova will now play in her fifth WTA Tour semifinal of this season.
