Coco Vandeweghe produced arguably her best-ever performance on a clay court to beat Simona Halep 6-4 6-1 in the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
The American served superbly and, crucially, she was consistent from the back of the court. She frequently hit the ball hard and deep and occasionally mixed it up by finding short angles.
It was a lethal combination and the World No.1 simply could not cope with it. After she was broken in the final game of the first set, the second set raced away from her before she could regain any kind of foothold in the match.
Even though she is playing brilliantly in Stuttgart, Vandeweghe still refuses to acknowledge that she is actually good on clay.
In a bizarre on-court interview after the match, she said, “I think this game for trying to get me to go on a date with the clay is a little bit better, but it’s not my favourite (surface).”
“As much as you guys try to make it my favourite, and you’re being very nice about it that I play OK on it, it’s definitely not my number one choice.”
On today’s evidence, The Amercian is much better than OK. She began the match with a comfortable hold, and then troubled Halep on her serve immediately.
While Vandeweghe did not manage to break, it was a sign of things to come. She continued to hold with ease and then almost broke Halep in game six when she earned two break points.
The Romanian hung on but the American’s relentless pressure on her serve eventually took its toll. When she was serving to stay in the set at 4-5, Halep made two double-faults to surrender it.
Vandeweghe looked very confident at the start of the second set. She drilled a series of punishing groundstrokes to within inches of the baseline to break Halep in game two.
The American then produced two huge serves and an excellent forehand winner to save three break points in the next game. It was a great example of how to use power to good effect on clay.
Halep got on the scoreboard in the second set with a gutsy hold and then earned her fourth – and last – break point of the match in game five. Vandeweghe thundered down an ace to save it.
The American ended the match as a contest by breaking Halep again. She then hit a series of big serves to clinch a significant victory.
In her press conference, Halep explained why she lost. She said, “She served really well and it was tough to break her. I couldn’t feel the rhythm, the timing.”
“Everything went fast, like a flash. I still feel the leg. I couldn’t move like I do. Couldn’t play my best here but she was strong today. No excuses. She played better.”
Garcia beats Svitolina again
Vandeweghe will play Caroline Garcia in the semi-finals after the Frenchwoman came back from a set down to beat Elina Svitolina 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2.
It is the third successive match between the two players where Garcia has lost a first set tie-break and gone on to win, and she is becoming something of a nemesis for the World No.4.
Svitolina won a tight opener and it was all going well for her at 3-1 in the second set. Then she faltered slightly and hit a few weak second serves, and the World No.7 took advantage with some trademark clean ball-striking.
After getting the break, Garcia seized control of the match and won 9 of the next 12 games to secure an impressive victory. The Frenchwoman hit 39 winners in the match and her clash with Vandeweghe – another big hitter in form – could be very exciting.
Karolina Pliskova and Anett Kontaveit will contest the second semi-final after the Czech came back from a set down to beat Jelena Ostapenko 5-7 7-5 6-4 and the Estonian beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-7(6) 6-4.
