By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, April 28, 2016
Samantha Stosur smacked six forehand winners in the third-set tie break to squeeze out a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) win over Barbora Strycova and reach her first semifinal of the season.
Photo credit: TK Sparta Praha / Pavel Lebeda (sport-pics.cz)/J&T Banka Prague Open 2016
Little separated Samantha Stosur and Barbora Strycova throughout a pulsating Prague clash today.
Then Stosur hammered a slew of authoritative forehands to close a gripping victory.
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Stosur smacked six forehand winners in the third-set tie break to squeeze out a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) win over the fifth-seeded Czech to advance to her first semifinal of the season.
The fourth-seeded Aussie will face either top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova or Puerto Rico's Monica Puig for a spot in the final.
Stosur overcame five double faults denying 11 of 13 break points she faced. Strycova hit eight aces and saved 11 of 14 break points.
Trailing 1-2 in the decisive breaker, Stosur whipped her forehand with finishing intent. She smacked three forehand winners in a row—down the middle, down the line and a forehand swing volley—to seize a 4-2 lead. Slashing a forehand pass by Strycova, who tried a surprise serve-and-volley, Stosur gained double match point.
The former US Open champion closed in style crunching a forehand winner down the line to conclude a demanding two hour, 55-minute battle.
The third-seeded Pliskova saved five of six break points crushing Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 6-1, in the lopsided 50-minute quarterfinal that opened today's play.
Left hander Safarova held off Su-Wei Hsieh, 7-6 (3), 7-5, in one hour, 47 minutes. The second-seeded Safarova will play Pliskova for a final spot.
The 18th-ranked Pliskova defeated Safarova, 7-6 (4) ,4-6, 7-5 on the red clay of Stuttgart last week.
"I was on the way back already in Stuttgart, where I had a great match, and I was hoping the results would come. I'm happy and excited that it's going this well," Safarova told WTATennis.com. "It was a tough match today; she's always a very tricky player, defending the court very well and I'm very excited to be through to the semis."