Ana Ivanovic beat Anastasya Pavluchenkova 6-3 7-5 to reach the semifinals at the China Open in Beijing keeping her hopes to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Ivanovic broke serve in the fourth game of the first set. The Serbian player could not hold her serve in the next game but she hit a backhand pass and an inside-out forehand as Pavlyuchenkova was serving at 2-3 down to bring up a break point which she converted. After fending off two break points in the seventh game Ivanovic sealed the first set after 35 minutes
In the second set Pavlyuchenkova took a 4-2 lead but Ivanovic reeled off five of the next six games sealing the win with 7-5.
Pavlyuchenkova saved five break points in a very long game with seven deuces.
Ivanovic had a chance to serve out for the match at 5-4 but she made her only two double faults of the match and dropped her serve. Ivanovic earned a break point chance which she converted to seal the win.
Ivanovic is at home in Beijing where she has reached two semifinals and two quarter finals in her seven appearances in this tournament
“I was happy to stay calm after I got broken at 5-4 serving for the match. She hit well but I felt like I served poorly that game. I think that was the only game that i actually served quite bad. Not a good time to do that”, said Ivanovic
Ivanovic hit 22 winners to Pavlyuchenkova’s 21 and 26 unforced errors to the Russian’s 27.
Ivanovic has improved her winning record to 7-1 over Pavlyuchenkova. She won the first six head-to-head matches including four consecutive wins on hard-court.
“I struggled a little bit to get going. The first set I took some painkillers, then it was a little bit better”, said Ivanovic
Ivanovic will take on Timea Bacsinszky in the semifinal. Both players are still in contention to qualify for the WTA Finals. Bacsinszky is currently 14th in the Road to Singapore with 2873 points, while Ivanovic is ranked 17th with 2616 points. Only the winner of this match will still have the chance to qualify for Singapore. Ivanovic leads 2-0 against Bacsinszky in their head-to-head matches
In the fourth quarter final Garbine Muguruza beat Bethanie Mattek Sands 6-1 7-5. The Spanish player, who secured her spot for the WTA Championships in Singapore yesterday, looked to be cruising to a easy win as she was leading 6-1 5-2 but 30-year-old Mattek Sands rallied to claw her way back into the match. Muguruza survived a late fighback from Mattek Sands to close out the match with 7-5 setting up a semifinal against Agnieszka Radwanska.
Muguruza got an immediate break to cruise to a comfortable 6-1 in the first set. Down 2-5 in the second set Mattek Sands won three consecutive games to draw level to 5-5. Muguruza hit three consecutive winners in the final game to earn a match point. The Spanish player sealed the win as Mattek Sands made an error on her passing shot.
“I wanted to win so much. I was really motivated today to be in the semifinal. I have never been so far in a mandatory tournament. I really want to see what happens. I knew that Mattek Sands’ comeback was going to happen because I know how she plays. I was trying to be calm and see if she could handle this level for the whole match. So I was able to close in the second set”, said Muguruza.
