First semi-final set at Bali
Li Na, the number one seed at the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions being held in Bali, Indonesia, was upset by Japan’s Kimiko Date Krumm in three sets, 6-4, 3-6 and 6-4.
Kimiko’s victory came as a surprise, as Li Na was ranked at number 11 in the world entering into the tournament, and appeared to be on top of her game. The 40-year-old Kimiko paid no attention to Li Na’s resume, and used wisdom and knowledge to defeat her
28-year-old Chinese opponent.
Li Na’s downfall came with her inability to capitalize on her service matches. She had eight double faults, having committed five in the first set of the match. Kimiko conversely only had three double faults, putting the pressure on Li Na throughout most
of the match.
Li Na’s tournament is over prematurely as this is a single elimination formatted tournament, but Kimiko will be advancing to the semi-finals.
The other quarter-final match had Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova against Serbian Ana Ivanovic.
The Serbian made quick work of Pavlyuchenkova, winning in straight sets 6-0 and 6-1. The match only took 56 minutes, showing how the Russian's play was lacking. Pavlyuchenkova made no aces and committed seven double faults while Ivanovic capitalized on her
mistakes and kept her running around the court for the match.
Ivanovic had six aces, and only one double fault, showing she is in true form at the tournament. She also won 73% of her first serve points, and 78% of her second serve points.
The stage is now set for the first of two semi-finals. Ivanovic will battle Kimiko for the right to play in the finals, while the other semi-final has yet to be decided.
One of the matches to decide the second semi-final is between Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova and Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. Hantuchova has four wins against Wickmayer in their previous meetings.
The other match to determine the second semi-final will be fought between France’s Aravane Rezai and Alisa Kleybanova, who hails from Russia. In the six previous matches between the competitors, Kleybanova holds the advantage, winning four of them.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday 6 November with the final following on Sunday.
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