By Tennis Now | Thursday, January 4, 2018
Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova scored straight-sets wins to move closer to a potential Shenzhen Open championship clash.
Photo credit: Shenzhen Open/IMG
Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova stormed into the Shenzhen Open semifinals moving closer to a potential championship showdown.
Former world No. 1 Sharapova defeated a determined Zarina Diyas, 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 31 minutes to make her third WTA Tour semifinal since her return to action last April.
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Sharapova saved three break points and squandered five break opportunities before finally converting her sixth attempt during the sixth game to take the lead and held her next two service games for a one-set lead.
The duo exchanged breaks early in the second set before the 30-year-old Sharapova surged ahead with another break point in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and completed the victory with a powerful smash at the net on the first of two match break points in the ninth and final game.
Although the 59th-ranked Russian hit more unforced errors during the match than her opponent (22 to 15), she also hit 24 winners to Diyas’ 11.
“It’s a good start to the season. I didn’t think it was my best performance today so I still have a lot of things to work on in the next match," Sharapova said. "I play a little bit more of an aggressive game than the majority of my opponents. If I’m putting the pressure on my opponent, then I maybe expect myself to make a few more unforced errors but I definitely need to cut down on those.”
Sharapova's run to the final four will propel her into the Top 50 when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday.
World No.1 Halep continued her strong start with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory over 19-year-old Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in just under an hour on the Centre Court ofthe Shenzhen Longgang Sports Centre.
The 26-year-old Romanian served 76 percent and face just one break point in the match. Halep converted five of the nine break-point chances she had.
“I was really happy with the way I played today," the 2015 tournament champion said. "I felt that I was very solid and very strong on my legs. I knew what to expect from her and I played well enough to win in two sets.”
Defending champion Katerina Siniakova made the semifinals here for the second year running with a powerful 6-2, 6-2 win over compatriot Kristyna Pliskova in 64 minutes.
The 21-year-old Czech did not face a single break point in the match while breaking her world No.61 opponent twice in each set for the comfortable win.
“It feels amazing, I’m so happy right now. I think I played really well today so I’m really happy about my game,” said Siniakova.
Earlier in the day, fourth seeded Irina Camelia Begu was the first to book her spot in tomorrow’s semifinal with a hard fought 7-5, 7-5 victory over eighth seeded Hungarian Timea Babos in just under two hours.
In a match of fine margins between two players who are just 12 spots apart on the WTA rankings, it was the world No.43 Begu that held her nerve when it counted. She converted six of eight break opportunities while Babos, who also created eight, converted just four and racked up eight double faults, including one at match point to gift her opponent the winning game.
“We know each other too well and it’s always going to be a tough match," Begu said. "The first set was difficult so I knew the second would be difficult to close as well. This is big victory early in the year and I’m happy to be the first semifinalist in the tournament. I hope I can do well tomorrow.”
It’s a mouth-watering final four in the singles draw here in Shenzhen, with three of the top six seeds, along with a five-time Grand Slam champion, set to play in the semifinals.
The day’s first match on Centre Court, commencing at 2 pm local time, will be an all-Romanian affair as top seed Halep and fourth Begu face off for the fourth time on the WTA tour, with Halep prevailing in all three previous matches with the last two coming at Wuhan (hard) and Madrid (clay) in 2016.
“It’s a nice match because we are both Romanian," Halep said. "We will see what will happen tomorrow but I’m ready to fight for my match. We last played singles a long time ago but I believe I have my chance.”
The second singles semifinal will see world No. 47 Siniakova playing her dream semifinal against former world No.1 Sharapova.
“It is my dream to play with Sharapova," Siniakova said. "I was telling my coach this morning I would like to win so I can play with her and now it has come true. I can’t wait to go onto the court and hopefully I will show my best.”
It will be a busy day for Halep, Begu and Siniakova as for the first time in its history, three Shenzhen Open singles semifinalists will also feature in the semifinals of the doubles draw.
Doubles matches will be played on Centre Court following the singles and after suitable rest for the Romanian duo of Halep and Begu, who are up first and will take on Anna Blinkova of Russia and Nicola Geuer of Germany.
The second semifinal sees top seeded Czechs Barbora Krejcikova and Siniakova facing off against Dutch-Belarusian duo Lesley Kerkhove and Lidziya Marozava, who won their first title as a pair in Luxembourg last season.