The quarter-finals at the Western & Southern Open brought both wins and surprises for the women. Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova reach the semi-finals of Cincinnati. Elina Svitolina and Madison Keys, however, were eliminated.
World number one Simona Halep beat the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6:4 and 6:1. The result is a bit deceptive about the course of the game. The Romanian was already trailing Tsurenko 1:4 and 0:40 before she hit the turbo and secured eleven of the last twelve games.
Halep, who had already won against Ashleigh Barty this morning, said after the match: “It was a tough day. “I’m very tired, but I’m also very happy.”
In the semi-finals, the Montreal winner will face Aryna Sabalenka with some surprise. The Belarusian won relatively clearly against Madison Keys 6:3 and 6:4, while Keys, who had eliminated Angelique Kerber of Germany in the round of 16, was unable to take advantage of any of her ten break opportunities and went to the US Open in New York with a negative experience. There she has to defend a final from last year.
In the lower half, the semifinal is Petra Kvitova v Kiki Bertens. The 26-year-old Bertens had surprisingly few problems with Elina Svitolina after a rapid 1:4 deficit and clearly won the match 6:4 and 6:3. “I’ve never been so good on the hard court. I’m just happy that I can play so many matches,” said the Dutchwoman after the match.
In the semi-final against Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic. The double Wimbledon winner beat the Belgian Elise Mertens 7:5, 5:7 and 6:3 after a real rollercoaster ride of emotions.
At first everything looked like a clear matter for Kvitova. In the first round, she was already leading 5-0 before Mertens scored five games in a row and equalised 5-5. But the next two games secured the sixth place in the world rankings.
In the second movement, exactly the opposite picture could be seen. Mertens quickly took a 4-0 lead, then had to accept the equaliser to 5-5 and won the round 7-5.
Also in the third section it went up and down, but finally Kvitova could recover from a break and win the match after almost two hours and 45 minutes.