Petra Kvitova stuns Li Na to reach the final of the Mutua Madrid Open
Sixteenth seeded Czech Petra Kvitova slew sixth seeded Chinese Li Na with a breadstick on Saturday. She registered a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the 29-year-old Chinese to advance into the final of the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, a clay
court tournament.
After making semi-final berth at Manolo Santana Stadium in Park Manzanares, Kvitova jumped from current number 18 to number ten in the WTA Premier rankings and became the sixth Czech player to reach top ten. She triumphed
over world number six Chinese in sixty-nine minutes in straight sets to book a spot in the final.
The Czech is currently in her top form as she won titles at Brisbane and Paris. She extended her winning streak to seven matches after outmuscling the Chinese, who put up a good performance but it was never enough to beat the surging
Kvitova.
Kvitova thundered into the opening set and broke the Chinese serve in the very first game. Although she lost her serves twice in the proceeding games, the Czech broke Li Na’s serve in the third, fifth and ninth game to clinch the
opener with an assuring 6-3 score line.
Although the Czech seed clobbered two double faults and a similar first serve share, she converted four out of six breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to win easily.
She raised her level of game into the final set as she hammered blistering forehands to reel off first five games in a row. Kvitova then held her serve in the seventh game to seal the set with a breadstick.
She produced a much better first serve share this time and registered an impressive 69 percent win on it. In addition to this, the Czech faced zero breakpoint and converted two out of seven breakpoint opportunities to her advantage.
"I knew I had to dominate because Li plays hard and fast. I had to get on the offensive first," Kvitova said after the match. "I didn't used to think clay was a good surface for me but here it's faster and that's good for my game."
Kvitova will next face fourth seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka. World number five Azarenka halted German Julia Goerges, who upset world number one Caroline Wozniacki on en-route to semis. The Belarusian also won the doubles
title here later that day with Russian Maria Kirilenko.
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