Britain’s Heather Watson illustrated glimpses of her best tennis as she eased her way past Donna Vekic 6-0, 6-4, in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International.
Watson, who came through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, dominated her opponent from the onset. The world No.74 won 11 consecutive games to race to a 6-0, 5-0, lead before she experience some resistance. Vekic, who is ranked 19 places higher than Watson, responded with back-to-back breaks in what was a change of momentum in the match. Still, it wasn’t enough for the Croat as the Brit closed the match out after just 63 minutes of play. Describing her win as ‘flawless.’
“From the beginning of the match I just played really, really well,” said 2015 champion Watson. “I was pretty flawless, no mistakes and then at 5-0 Donna raised her level.
“I knew she’d swing free because she had nothing to lose at that point, so I just had to sort of stick with her and when it came to closing it out I was very pleased with that last game.”
Despite almost hitting twice as many errors than winners (9-16), Watson capitalized on the mistakes made by Vekic during the match. The Croat hit 33 unforced errors and six double faults.
Reaching her first WTA semifinal since Eastbourne in June, Watson will next take on defending champion Elise Mertens. The Belgian second seed received a walkover in her last eight match after Monica Niculescu withdrew due to a neck injury.
“I’m disappointed because I love this tournament,” Niculescu said. “I hit a simple backhand and I felt a crack in my neck, since then I can’t move properly. I’m sorry for the fans, I really enjoy playing here but I cannot move, so I think it is the right decision.”
In the other section of the draw, fifth seed Lesia Tsurenko dropped just two games during her one-sided 6-1, 6-1, triumph over Aryna Sabalenka. The Ukrainian lost only five points behind her first serve and saved a trio of break points during the match.
“I was feeling comfortable out there,” Tsurenko said. “I was serving well, which is a good improvement on my previous match.”
Tsurenko is aiming to win her fourth WTA title this week. She will play either Alison Riske or Mihaela Buzărnescu in the semifinals.
