Paris
Czech seventh seed Petra Kvitova put in a powerful display to breeze past unseeded German Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-3 on Wednesday to reach her second semi-final at the French Open after a gap of eight years.
The 30-year-old, a two-times champion at Wimbledon, reached the last four stage on the claycourts at Roland Garros in 2012 and was yet to lose a set at this year’s tournament in Paris, which has lost the top three seeds in the women’s draw.
Roland Garros was where Kvitova made an emotional return to professional tennis three years back after being sidelined for six months following a burglar attack at her home that left her with severe damage to the nerves and tendons in her left hand. “It means a lot to me, definitely,” Kvitova said in her interview on Court Philippe Chatrier. “I didn’t dream to be in a semi-final after everything that happened.
“Right now it’s my lucky place, I’m really happy to be here, to play. I really missed it when I was off. I’m happy I’m still able to play and compete with the best.”
Siegemund, ranked 66th in the world, was appearing in the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career and had lost her only meeting against the tall and big-serving left-hander 6-1 6-1 at the U.S. Open in 2015.
The 32-year-old did not pose a challenge in the opening set as Kvitova put in a near-perfect show.
The left-hander hit six aces, lost a single point on her first serve and converted her first breakpoint opportunity to canter through the opener in 34 minutes. She hit 14 winners against five unforced errors.
But the German gave a good account of her fighting spirit in the second despite suffering a lower back problem midway through.—Reuters
