Kvitova Powers Through Radwanska In Istanbul
By: James Waterson
|
Photo Credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
|
(October 28, 2011) Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova rallied from 5-1 down in the first set to defeat World No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the final match of the group stage at the year-end WTA Championships Friday.
Kvitova entered the match the clear favorite, as she held a 2-0 record against Radwanska and she won comprehensive victories against Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva earlier in the week.
But on Friday she started poorly, as the Czech committed numerous unforced errors to fall behind 1-5. Yet she continued to go for her shots and she managed to win the next five games before Radwanska halted her momentum.
Kvitova raced to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker, but her game temporarily cooled off and the Polish player won four of the next five points. Yet the Czech found her shots once again, and won the next two points to seal the first set.
The World No. 3 broke in the first game of the second set and then held, but Radwanska managed to level the set at 2-2.
Two games later, the Pole tested Kvitova’s serve in what may have been the turning point of the match. She had numerous chances to break and take a lead in the set, but the Czech persevered and held after more than 13 minutes.
The loss of that game seemed to energize Kvitova, as she quickly ran off the final two games to win the match after one hour and 46 minutes.
The Czech has gone won all three of her matches at the championships, and now moves on to the semifinals.
Radwanska could have moved on to the semifinals if she had won at least a set against Kvitova; because she didn’t Zvonareva advances to the knock-out stage of the tournament.
Kvitova will play Samantha Stosur in the semifinals. She has a 2-0 record against the Australian, and won their last match at the Australian Open in straight sets.