Kiki Bertens slays Garbine Muguruza Blanco to secure a final four spot – Fes WTA 2012
In an all-qualifier battle, Kiki Bertens of Netherlands breezed past the Spanish youngster Garbine Muguruza Blanco with a breadstick at the Grand Prix De SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem 2012 on Thursday. She nudged up a 6-1, 6-4 success against the 18-year-old
to power into the semi-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) event held on the clay courts in Morocco.
The world number 149 showed awe-inspiring skills at this WTA International-level tournament and shocked the Polish contestant, Urszula Radwanska, in straight sets in her opening round. She then went on to stun the sixth seed, South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers,
in a three-set thriller before encountering the Spanish teenager.
Bertens carried her rhythm into this quarter-final clash and after cashing in six out of 10 break opportunities, she improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series against the Spaniard.
"I think I played very good today," the blooming Dutch was quoted after the match. "I made a good start in both sets and, although I got a little bit nervous at the end of the second, thankfully I managed to finish it off. My movement was really good and
I was also hitting the ball really well. She was maybe making more mistakes than usual and I was pleased I managed to take advantage."
The 20-year-old stormed into the Royal Tennis Club de Fes and stroke out the following four games in a row before Blanco could hold on. She then maintained her intensity and bagged the last two games, consequently pulling out the opener with a breadstick.
Bertens carried her winning ways in the follow-up set and went on a five-game rampage with two breaks of serve. Regardless of squandering her chance of serving out with a breadstick, she lost her edge in the ninth game. However, the Dutch stayed calm and
carved out the victory with a 6-4 score line after cashing in another break chance in the last game.
Next challenge for Bertens is the Romanian number one, Simona Halep, who stunned top seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues with a breadstick to set-up this epic battle.
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