Bertens defeats good friend Larsson, moves into Gstaad SF
GSTAAD, Switzerland - No.2 seed Kiki Bertens stayed on course for her second title of the season with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No.5 seed and good friend Johanna Larsson in the quaterfinals of the Ladies Championship Gstaad on Friday.
"It's tough [to play a friend]." Bertens said after the match. "Sometimes, you're thinking like, where I'm going to serve and she thinks I'm going there, so it's a little bit of a mental game also. You don't want to scream come on to often, which you maybe normally do, but I think it was a good match.
"I think playing aggressive, serving well, putting as many balls in the court but in an aggressive way and letting her make the mistakes [worked] -- I did that pretty good."
The Dutchwoman never trailed for the entirety of the 94-minute encouter, as she served five aces and broke the Swede's serve twice in each set.
Forced to save two break points in the third game of the match, Bertens earned three chances of her own in the next game, but didn't break through on the No.5 seed's serve until the eighth game -- where she then served for the opener at 5-3.
Larsson remained unduanted, as the Swede won four straight points from 30-0 down to get the first set back on serve, but the No.2 seed escaped with the opener after a deuce game on the Larsson serve - where the Swede could not convert on a game point to tie the set at 5-5.
Bertens snagged an early break in the second set, as she opened up a 3-0 lead, but Larsson hit back late in the set to break the No.2 seed as she served for the match, in identical fashion to the opener.
Once again, however, Bertens stepped it up when it mattered, and broke Larsson's serve for the fourth time in the match to move safely through to the last four.
Later in the day, the duo were back on court - on the same side of the net. The top seeds in the doubles draw, Bertens and Larsson advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lenka Kuncikova and Eva Wacanno.
Source: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/bertens-defeats-good-friend-larsson-moves-gstaad-sf
"It's tough [to play a friend]." Bertens said after the match. "Sometimes, you're thinking like, where I'm going to serve and she thinks I'm going there, so it's a little bit of a mental game also. You don't want to scream come on to often, which you maybe normally do, but I think it was a good match.
 |
Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson hug after their match. (Monika Majer & Robert Hradil, RvS Media)
|
The Dutchwoman never trailed for the entirety of the 94-minute encouter, as she served five aces and broke the Swede's serve twice in each set.
Forced to save two break points in the third game of the match, Bertens earned three chances of her own in the next game, but didn't break through on the No.5 seed's serve until the eighth game -- where she then served for the opener at 5-3.
Larsson remained unduanted, as the Swede won four straight points from 30-0 down to get the first set back on serve, but the No.2 seed escaped with the opener after a deuce game on the Larsson serve - where the Swede could not convert on a game point to tie the set at 5-5.
Bertens snagged an early break in the second set, as she opened up a 3-0 lead, but Larsson hit back late in the set to break the No.2 seed as she served for the match, in identical fashion to the opener.
Once again, however, Bertens stepped it up when it mattered, and broke Larsson's serve for the fourth time in the match to move safely through to the last four.
Later in the day, the duo were back on court - on the same side of the net. The top seeds in the doubles draw, Bertens and Larsson advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Lenka Kuncikova and Eva Wacanno.
Source: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/bertens-defeats-good-friend-larsson-moves-gstaad-sf
Post a Comment