Agnieszka Radwanska beat Petra Kvitova 6-2 7-6 (7-3) in the re-match of the 2015 WTA Finals title match in Singapore to reach the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Premier Mandatory Tournament in Indian Wells.
Radwanska and Kvitova met for the 10th time in their careers. Kvitova led 6-3 in their previous head-to-head matches but Radwanska beat her Czech rival to clinch the WTA Finals title last year in Singapore.
Radwanska saved a match point in the first round against Dominika Cibulkova, while Kvitova reached the quarter finals after winning all her matches in the third round.
After her 6-3 3-6 7-5 win over Cibulkova, Radwanska beat Jelena Jankovic 6-3 6-3 in the fourth round. Radwanska has a win-loss record of 17-2 this season and won a title in Shenzhen.
Kvitova held her serve in the first game but Radwanska broke serve in the third game for 2-1 as Kvitova made a double fault and three forehand errors. Kvitova failed to convert four break back points in the next game. Radwanska got a double break in the fifth game to pull away to 4-1 as Kvitova made three double faults. The Pole won five consecutive games to race to a 5-1 lead.
Kvitova saved her service game for 2-5 but Radwanska served for the first set in the next game. The Polish star closed out the first set on her first opportunity.
Radwanska saved all the four break point chances she faced and converted two of her three break point chances in the first set. Kvitova made 11 winners to 22 unforced errors. Radwanska made just 4 unforced errors.
Kvitova faced two break points but she managed to hold her serve in the first game of the second game. There were three consecutive breaks of serve in the fourth, fifth and sixth games. The Czech player broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead as Radwanska made two backhand errors. Radwanska broke straight back but Kvitova got another break to take a 4-2 lead. The Czech star held her service game to open up a 5-2 lead.
Radwanska broke back for the second time in the 9th game to claw her way into the set for 4-5 with a spectacular drop-shot. As Radwanska served to stay in the set, she won her third consecutive game to draw level to 5-5.
The second set came down to the tie-break. Radwanska cruised to a 4-0 lead with a double mini-break. Kvitova recovered one of the two mini-breaks but Radwanska earned four match points at 6-2. The Pole converted her second chance as Kvitova hit her return into the net.
Radwanska has reached the semifinal in Indian Wels for the third time in her career. It’s her fourth consecutive semifinal in 2016. She has reached the semifinal or better in 8 of her last 9 events. Thanks to this win Radwanska will return to World Number 2 in the WTA Ranking.
“I have good experience in the first match, almost losing 5-3 in the third. So I was pretty calm. Obviously that’s just one break, so you just keep going and I was a little big lucky in the end”, said Radwanska.
Radwanska will face either Serena Williams or Simona Halep in the semifinals.
