Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova moved into the semi-finals of the Connecticut Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win on Thursday over fellow Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
Trailing 4-3, the second seed called her coach onto the court, and he told her to stop trying to win on every shot and be more patient.
“So I was trying to play a little bit longer rallies, just wait for the good point that I can really attack her, going forward for the final volleys, for example,” she said.
...I was trying to play a little bit longer rallies, just wait for the good point that I can really attack her...
She cruised in the second, taking the final five games of the match.
After struggling with Flipken’s serve all match, Samantha Stosur broke her to go up 4-3 in the final set on a nice inside-out forehand, and then broke her again in the final game of the match to take the game 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
On the other side of the bracket, Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia ousted American Alison Riske in three sets, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 and
will face hard-serving Italian Camila Giorgi in the semis. Giorgi, who upset Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, got by Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2.
At Winston Salem… John Isner’s preparations for the U.S. Open hit a setback on Thursday when a sprained ankle forced him to withdraw from the Winston-Salem Open hours before his quarterfinal.
Isner’s withdrawal sends Rosol to Friday’s semi-finals, where he will play ninth-seeded Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over 14th-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy.
The other semi-final will have American Sam Querrey take on Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz. Querrey advanced by beating fifth-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4. Janowicz beat Belgian qualifier David Goffin 6-4, 6-2.
