Mona Barthel upsets Angelique Kerber to claim a title shot – Moorilla Hobart International 2012
German qualifier, Mona Barthel, continues with her stunning run at the Moorilla Hobart International, outplaying the fourth seed fellow compatriot, Angelique Kerber, in the semi-final round on Friday. 64th ranked Barthel
blasted through her superior ranked opponent in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6(6), to book a place in the final of the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International tournament.
World number 31, Kerber, hung in the contest for merely one hour and 19 minutes before submitting in the second set to end her voyage at the Australian Open warm up event. The 23-year-old was completely blown away by the fury of
Barthel in the opening set but posed some serious resistance in the second set before letting her into the title round.
Barthel is having one of her dream runs at the Hobart International, as she ousted a number of top seed contestants en route to final. The German stunned every one with her emphatic straight sets victory over the second seed Anabel
Medina Garrigues in the second round and then went on with her winning momentum to overwhelm fifth seed Aussie, Jarmila Gajdosova, in the quarter-finals. Fourth seed Kerber also failed to halt the 21-year-old’s momentum in the semi-final clash and crumbled
in straight sets to award her a golden opportunity to secure her maiden WTA championship title.
The German qualifier was off to a ballistic start in the opening set, breaking her compatriot’s serve in the very first game to gain the early advantage. Barthel broke Kerber’s serve in all the three serve games and clinched 24
out of 32 total points being played in the set to reach 6-0 in barely half an hour.
Fourth seed Kerber shifted her gears in the following set and a serve break right up took her to 3-0. Barthel backfired at her in the ninth game and then held her remaining serves to drag the set into a tie-breaker round. The decider
also went neck-to-neck before Barthel delivered the final blow to close out the contest at 7-6(6), booking a spot in the final of the Moorilla Hobart International.
Barthel will take on the winner of the other semi-final battle between the top seed Yanina Wickmayer and the sixth seed Shahar Peer of Israel.
Tags: