Wednesday’s action at the China Open finished the remainder of the second-round matches and opened the third-round action. World No.1 Angelique Kerber made it through to the third round, while in-form Petra Kvitova surged into the quarterfinals.
The top-seeded Kerber comfortably won the first set against Barbora Strycova in the second round and the German started the second set on a confident note as well. The world No.21 Strycova, however, complicated her opponent’s life in the second set, constantly producing comebacks after going down a break, including two times when Kerber was serving for the match. Eventually, Kerber finished the job in the tiebreak, which she opened with a 4-0 lead. Final score: 6-3 7-6(4).
Serve stats were weak on both sides in this match. Both players recorded no aces and both hit three double faults. Kerber’s first-serve percentage was just 59%, Strycova’s 69%. Also, Kerber won 61% of points on her first serve and only 39% on second, while Strycova won just 47% of points on her first serve and 32% on second.
Kerber’s opponent in the third round will be seed No.16 Elina Svitolina, who defeated wildcard Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-4.
Petra Kvitova continued her unprecedented Wuhan form, racing into the China Open quarterfinals with a 6-1 6-4 victory over reigning Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza. The 14th-seeded Kvitova was dominant in the first set and solid in the second set, which went with serve until 3-all when the Czech earned a crucial break and strongly held on to it until the end.
Kvitova’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be eighth seed and orange Nike outfit twin Madison Keys, who eliminated ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6(2) 6-2 in the preceding match on Wednesday’s Beijing schedule.(photos: Jimmie48)
