Cibulkova, Kvitova to clash in Wuhan
Print Edition
PETRA Kvitova romped to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over world No. 5 Simona Halep in the Wuhan Open semifinals yesterday to move a step closer to winning the tournament for the second time.
In-form Kvitova, who won the title in 2014, will meet Dominika Cibulkova in the final today after the Slovak beat Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Despite making 16 unforced errors, 14th seed Kvitova, who knocked out German world No. 1 Angelique Kerber in the last 16, hit 34 winners to crush Romanian fourth seed Halep in just over an hour.
“It’s amazing. I came to this tournament and really didn’t expect this kind of performance,” Kvitova told reporters.
“Physically I’m still so-so ... I’m really happy that I’m not falling apart.”
Cibulkova’s path to the final has been far less straightforward as the 10th seed played two matches on Thursday.
“It feels great. I’m really tired right now, but the feeling to be in the final is unbelievable,” Cibulkova said.
Cibulkova also boosted her hopes of reaching the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time.
Victory over Kvitova would lift her above Spain’s Garbine Muguruza into sixth place in the rankings.
The Slovak’s strong run at Wuhan marks an impressive return for the 27-year-old who missed four months of the season in 2015 after having surgery on her left foot. A left calf injury also forced her to withdraw from the Rio Olympics.
Despite the semi-final loss, 31-year-old Kuznetsova, who reached world No. 2 in 2007, is enjoying a late-career resurgence and will likely reach her highest ranking in six years when next week’s leaderboard is released.
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