While the 2015 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open was troubled by plenty of big-name player withdrawals in the weeks leading up to the tournament, the top players that finally showed up in the Asian metropolis are delivering an absolutely flawless performance so far this week.
The almost spotless record for the stars continued during the quarterfinals on Friday with all four top seeds making their way into the semifinals in a pretty impressive fashion. Greeted by what was almost a capacity crowd inside the Victoria Park Tennis Center, Venus Williams continued her splendid Hong Kong run with a straight-set win over Alize Cornet, keeping her Singapore hopes alive.
Another player who relies on a fine performance in Hong Kong is Angelique Kerber and so far the German #1 is doing all she can to keep her WTA Finals campaign going. On Friday, Kerber got past Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, despite fierce competition from the WTA youngster.
Kerber’s win keeps her chances to reach Singapore very much alive, as she can punch her ticket for the WTA Finals on her own by winning the Hong Kong tournament, an accomplishment that is now just two matches away.
The closest thing to an upset the spectators got to witness on Friday was Sam Stosur’s match against Heather Watson, as the experienced Australian lost the first set to the young Briton, rallying to deliver a bagel in the all-deciding third set.
The day was rounded out by another fine performance of an experienced player as Jelena Jankovic swept by Daria Gavrilova, surrendering only two games on her way into the round of the last four.
Saturday’s semifinals would be worthy of a Premier tournament as Hong Kong’s impressive 2015 run continues with the match-ups of Sam Stosur vs. Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams vs. Jelena Jankovic.
Keep checking back to Women’s Tennis Blog as the 2015 Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open champion is due to be crowned very soon!
