Petra Kvitova reaches Connecticut Open quarters
Saturday 29 August 2015 12:08, UK
Petra Kvitova rallied to beat Madison Keys in three sets as the top seeds had a good day at the WTA Tour's Connecticut Open.
Defending champion Kvitova - seeded two - rallied from losing the first set against the American player to progress to the quarter-finals 4-6 6-1 6-2.
Kvitova bounced back with a strong second set, but was tested early in the third by Keys before breaking her serve to take a 3-2 lead and then overcoming a 40-0 deficit to take the next game.
"The conditions [without the humidity] were perfect for me, for sure," said Kvitova, who revealed several weeks ago that she has mononucleosis. "I felt good and I didn't really have any troubles."
"I didn't really think I was in any trouble out there," Kvitova said. "My only loss came on my serve in the first set, otherwise I thought I was kind of OK from my side."
Her next opponent will be seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who had far too much power for France's Alize Cornet in a 6-4 6-2 win.
"I'm just very happy to finish the match in two sets," Radwanska said. "She's a great fighter, so I knew it was going to be a long match. She can really play everything and you can expect everything from her side."
Fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic topped Ukraine's Olga Savchuk 6-4 6-1 in 52 minutes to set up a match against lucky-loser Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine - Tsurenko got into the field on Sunday after top seed Simona Halep pulled out because of an injury.
With fourth-seeded Lucile Safarova having advanced on Tuesday, the Czech Republic has three players in the quarter-finals. Safarova will play Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.
Third seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark outlasted Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci 6-4 6-7 7-6 to advance in a tournament she won in four successive seasons from 2008 - she will play France's Caroline Garcia in the last eight.
"She made it tricky out there with her slice and her flat forehand and mixing up the serve and stuff," Wozniacki said. "The good thing is I am through and I get another chance tomorrow."
