Czech Petra Kvitova, seeded number 7, qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin by dominating French Caroline Garcia in two sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), on Saturday . The double Wimbledon winner (2011 and 2014), very comfortable on grass, mastered this meeting against the seeded 3, relying on the quality of her service – she won 83% of the points on first ball against 64% for Garcia -.
“I had never faced it before on this surface and it was an advantage for me. It’s a nice revenge after my defeat in the final in Cincinnati” last year, reacted the 33-year-old Czech. Kvitova had indeed lost last summer against the French on the hard court of the North American tournament, during their last confrontation to date. Since then, however, the Czech has confirmed her return to form, winning the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami in the spring. Returning to 7th place in the world, she can be ambitious one week from Wimbledon. But, before that, she will have to continue on Saturday afternoon in Berlin with a semi-final against the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (22nd at the WTA).
Caroline Garcia, who is coming out of a disappointing season on clay, can also find reasons for satisfaction, after having crossed two laps in Berlin. Faced with Kvitova, the world number 4 faltered in the first set during the famous seventh game, conceding her serve. The Czech only had to secure her face-off to win 6-4 in 52 minutes. In the second set, Garcia showed great resources by saving several break points, especially at 4-4. But the French could not do anything during the decisive game, logically dominated by her Czech opponent 7 points to 3.