American qualifier Samantha Crawford continued her incredible week in Brisbane, hitting 22 winners en route to an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 win over Andrea Petkovic at the 2016 Brisbane International. Overwhelming her more experienced German counterpart with her raw power, Crawford needed just 59 minutes to secure a place in her maiden WTA-level semi final. She will play the winner of the match between Victoria Azarenka and Roberta Vinci next; that match is scheduled to be played at 6:00 PM local time.
Crawford Clinches Decisive Break Late in Opening Set
The early stages of the opening set were a lot tighter than one might expect after seeing the final result. Both women had to fight through each and every one of their service games and neither had to face a break point until the sixth game, when Crawford was beginning to ask the question. Thanks to a couple of big forehand winners from the WTA Rising Star and a couple of costly unforced errors late in the sixth game, the American drew first blood, breaking at the first time of asking to open up a 4-2 lead. Petkovic, however, no stranger to these situations, hit back with an emphatic break of her own to get back on serve. However, it was Crawford, with her brutal power and depth that really gave Petkovic problems. Unable to control the majority of the shots thrown at her, the German was unable to use her regular backswing to hit through the ball. Instead, she was forced to shorten her backswing in an attempt to counter Crawford's heavy and powerful ground strokes, but had little to no success. Shortly after breaking for a second time, the world number 142 made no mistake on her serve when it really mattered, successfully serving out the opening set 6-3 with some more monstrous hitting.
Flawless Set of Tennis from Crawford; Seals the Win in Emphatic Style
The second set began right where the first set ended as Crawford continued to trouble Petkovic with her raw power, pushing the German further and further back behind the baseline. Breaking straight away in the opening game of the second frame, Crawford consequently mounted a sizeable set and a break advantage, and never looked back. From there, the world number 142 dominated proceedings, playing well above her current singles rankings. Moments after consolidating the early break, Crawford broke once more and was just three games away from one of the biggest wins of her relatively young professional career. Not letting the occasion get to her, the 20-year-old continued to play her aggressive and fearless brand of tennis, leaving a lost-looking Petkovic stunned and helpless. Within a matter of minutes, Crawford went from 3-0 up to being 5-0 up and was given three chances to serve for the match - should she need all of them. However, the American needed only the one as she hit an abundance of winners before another error flew off the racquet of Petkovic on match point, consequently securing an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 victory over the world number 24.
This is also Crawford's 13th win in her last 14 matches, dating back to last October. A champion at the $50,000 event in Scottsdale on the ITF Professional Circuit, the 20-year-old ended her 2015 season as a quarter finalist in Carlsbad before beginning her 2016 season with a WTA-leading six wins in a row in Brisbane.
