Yanina Wickmayer defeated Shahar Peer in the quarter-final of the BNP Paribas Open
World number 25, Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium outplayed the 12th ranked Israeli Shahar Peer in the quarter-final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California on Wednesday night. Wickmayer barely took an hour to defeat her opponent in straight
sets 6-3, 6-3, to qualify for the semi-final of the tournament.
The Belgian registered her 12th win of the running WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) season, improving her head-to-head record against Peer by 3-2. Her victory at Indian Wells puts her in the second semi-final of a WTA event this year.
It was a magnificent show of sheer class and domination by Wickmayer to wipe out her Israeli competitor from the event. The Belgian beat Peer in all segments of the game and appeared a far more established player than her opponent. She delivered 67 per cent
of her first serve on target, committing four double faults and belting three aces. Her overall ability to bag points proved to be the critical success factor for her as she won 56 points, with Peer collecting a mere 36 of the total 92 points played in the
contest.
Wickmayer ignited the contest with her typical aggression, pushing her opponent down to the baseline and cracking plenty of cross-court winners. She secured 20 out of 25 total serve points in the opener and gave no chance to the Israeli to clinch a break
point. The 21-year-old Belgian stung a serve break to get into a commanding lead of 5-3 in the first set and then served out at 6-3 to lead the contest by one set to none.
The dejected Israeli gathered up her courage in the following set, breaking Wickmayer early. Peer struck a total of two break points in the second set but her Belgian opponent was far better than her, breaking Peer’s serve on four different occasions. Wickmayer
sealed her victory at 6-3, advancing to the semi-final of the BNP Paribas Open.
Wickmayer will square off against the 15th seed French, Marion Bartoli in the semi-final at Indian Wells. Bartoli defeated the 19th seed Serb, Ana Ivanovic, in the quarter-final in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(4).
Tags: