The final leg of the US Open Series, the Connecticut Open in New Haven, Connecticut is now in its business end as the quarterfinal stage concluded Thursday. The semifinal round this year will consist of three seeds and lucky loser as all four women continue their quest for the title and boost their preparations for the US Open which begins next week.
Radwanska and Kvitova round up top half semifinal clash
Double Wimbledon champion and triple Connecticut Open champion Petra Kvitova was the first of the pair to advance. The Czech played fellow lefty, Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova in what was their second clash in New Haven, with Kvitova coming out on top in their round of 16 encounter two years ago.
It was also their fourth meeting this year. The Russian prevailed in their first two encounters in Miami and Wimbledon. Having beaten Makarova in the round of 16 at the Olympics a fortnight ago, Kvitova completed her double revenge by overpowering the Russian with the loss of just four games in exactly an hour to charge into her fifth consecutive semifinal here.
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s quarterfinal clash was last up on Stadium. The Pole met Belgian Kirsten Flipkens for the first time since 2013. Radwanska dominated the opening set, winning 27 of 39 points. The second set saw Flipkens step up to the challenge but Radwanska proved too much to handle as she swept past the Belgian 6-1, 6-4 in 82 minutes to move into her maiden semifinal in New Haven.
Svitolina and Larsson meet in bottom half semifinal
Number 10 seed Elina Svitolina looks to be on a roll in New Haven. The Ukrainian met a pair of Russian opponents en route to the last eight. In the first round, she overcame Daria Kasatkina in three sets before dispatching Evgeniya Rodina with the loss of just four games.
In the quarterfinals, she met her third consecutive Russian opposition, this time Elena Vesnina. Svitolina entered her quarterfinal match having lost her only two prior encounters to Vesnina, the most recent one coming in the opening round of Tianjin last year. She got her revenge this time around, sending the Russian out of New Haven 6-3, 6-1 in 75 minutes to make her first semifinal since Kuala Lumpur in March.
The other quarterfinal saw second seed Roberta Vinci take on Sweden’s Johanna Larsson, a lucky loser. Larsson had defeated seventh seed Timea Bacsinszky and wildcard Shelby Rogers coming into this clash and carried on her momentum by sweeping aside her Italian opponent in a tiebreak-breadstick scoreline to secure her place in the semifinals.
Friday’s schedule
Friday will witness all four semifinalists take the court, with two spots in the championship round at stake. The first match of the day sees Svitolina do battle with Larsson while Radwanska and Kvitova headline evening action. The draw ceremony for the US Open takes place on the same day as well.