Second-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic moved into the quarter-finals of the New Haven Open with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over America’s Nicole Gibbs.
Last year’s Wimbledon champion, the only Grand Slam winner in the New Haven field, is coming off a title in Montreal, her first in North America, and a run to the semi-finals in Cincinnati.
“I want to play a lot of matches here, and go for the US Open with a good result,” she said. “I want good matches in my bag.”
Photo: AFP
Caroline Wozniacki remains undefeated in New Haven after beating Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the second round.
Third-seeded Wozniacki is playing in the tournament for the fifth time and is the four-time defending champion. Wednesday’s victory was her 19th here without a loss.
“I think I just have the same mentality every time I go into a match,” Wozniacki said. “Out of respect for myself, the tournament and the opponent, I treat it as a match that I want to win.”
Her chances for a fifth straight title improved on Tuesday when top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska retired in the second set of a lackluster performance against qualifier Olga Govortsova with a sore shoulder. Radwanska said she did not want to risk aggravating the injury going into the US Open.
The 19-year-old Gibbs was able to come back from 4-1 down to tie Kvitova before world’s fifth-ranked player put her away.
Kvitova will play one of her best friends, Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals. Safarova beat Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 6-0.
Wozniacki had a tougher time in her match. She never trailed against Arvidsson, but dropped three straight games after being up 4-1 in the first set, and had to battle the rest of the way.
“I went a little bit down with my level, she went a little bit up and all of the sudden it was just a struggle to win that first set,” Wozniacki said. “I’m just happy to be through. You don’t always have to be playing your best tennis, but just win the most important points.”
She will play Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals. The short Slovakian used a powerful forehand to beat Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-4, 6-1.
“I’m compensating because I’m not so tall,” she said. “I have developed the power, good swing in my arms. I use the power in my shots.”
Petkovic, who is coming off injuries to her back and right ankle, was playing in her first tournament since April and just her fourth of the year.
“I’m quite satisfied because I didn’t break my neck,” she said. “That’s a development from the last tournament. My strokes and my movement and my body is totally fine.”
? TEXAS OPEN
AFP, DALLAS, Texas
Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic breezed past Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Tour’s Texas Open on Wednesday.
The second-seeded Jankovic dominated Cirstea by winning 79 percent of her first-serve points to book a spot in the next round against qualifier Casey Dellacqua of Australia.
The eighth-seeded Cirstea committed seven double faults and won just 19 percent of her second-serve points in the match played on the main stadium courts.
Dellacqua also won her match in straight sets, beating Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-4.
Dellacqua won 68 percent of her first-serve points and hammered two aces in the 67-minute match.
In other action, Italy’s Roberta Vinci, the third seed, eliminated Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals.
Vinci next faces Bojana Jovanovski who was leading 6-4, 1-0 when China’s Peng Shuai retired from their match early in the second set.
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