Simona Halep battled past last week’s Stanford champion Angelique Kerber in three hard-fought sets with 6-3 5-7 6-4 setting up a quarter final against defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska who fought back from 2-4 down to clinch a 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over Alizé Cornet.
Kerber won the second set forcing the match to the third set and took a 3-2 lead in the third set. Halep held her serve to draw level to 3-3 before both players traded breaks in the next two games for 4-4. Halep won the next two games to love big ace e and hit an ace to clinch the third set with 6-4.
“I think I played better than yesterday. I feel more confident now. My serve did not work very well but I returned well. I am really happy that I could win the match. I was fighting until the end. I served well in the last game and I finished the match with an ace.
Radwanska leads Halep 4-3 in their previous head-to-head matches.
Serena Williams, who won the Rogers Cup three times and the first three Grand Slam titles of the year at the Australian Open, at the Roland Garros and at Wimbledon, beat Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-2. Williams, who had always defeated Petkovic in their previous four head-to-head matches, never faced a single break point holding all her nine service games. Serena broke serve three times en route to a comfortable win.
Williams hit six aces and made 15 winners. She converted her third break point in the 8th game before serving out for the set. Wllliams reeled off seven consecutive points to break serve in the opening game of the second set. She got a double break before serving out for the match.
Williams will face Roberta Vinci who beat Daria Gavrilova 6-4 6-3.
Sara Errani beat Viktoria Azarenka 7-5 6-3. Errani hit a topspin lob to break Azarenka in the second game of the opening set for 2-0. Azarenka broke back to draw level to 2-2. Azarenka broke in the seventh game but the Italian broke twice for 4-4 and in the final game of the first set for 7-5. Errani opened up a 3-0 lead in the second set. Azarenka broke back but dropped her serve again at 3-2. Errani dropped her serve at 4-2 but in the next game the Italian got her fourth consecutive break and served out for the match.
Errani saved a break back point before earning five match points but Azarenka saved them. Azarenka hit the net with her backhand to trail 3-5 in the second set before Errani prevailed in a tight final game on her sixth match point to seal the second set as Azarenka made her 53rd unforced error of the match. Errani will face Lesia Tsurenko who beat Carina Witthoeft 6-3 6-4.
Errani broke a losing streak of six consecutive matches against Azarenka to qualify for her first Premier-level quarter final in 2015
“I played a really good match. Azarenka is an unbelievably good player so it was not good. I was a bit nervous in that final game when I had three match points but at the end I got there”, said Errani
Belinda Bencic edged Sabine Lisicki 6-1 1-6 7-6. Ana Ivanovic beat Polona Hercog 6-2 6-3.
