Tennis
Radwanska books semis spot
2013-01-03 08:25
Agnieszka Radwanska (AFP)
|
Wellington - Top-seeded
Agnieszka Radwanska beat Russia's Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3 after a
lengthy rain delay on Thursday to advance to semifinals of the ASB
Classic.
The fourth-ranked Pole
kept her composure when the players were forced off the court early in
the second set to close out her third straight-sets win of the
tournament.
Radwanska was
joined in the semifinals by the two other seeded players remaining in
the draw. Third-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium beat countrywoman
Kirsten Flipkens 6-3, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Mona Barthel of Germany beat
Sweden's Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-1.
American Jamie Hampton was playing Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in the last quarterfinal later on Thursday.
Vesnina
led 2-1 in the second set when the rain came and stopped play for
nearly two hours. When the players returned, Radwanska broke her Russian
opponent in the seventh game to finish off the set and match.
"I
knew that against her I would have to play very well from the first
point to the last and fortunately, in both sets, I was able to play my
best tennis," she said.
Wickmayer
also had to deal with the rain to beat Flipkens, her Fed Cup team-mate.
There were three short rain delays during the match, but Wickmayer, the
2010 Auckland champion, stayed in charge throughout.
"I
guess it was a little tougher than a normal match," she said of playing
Flipkens. "We know each other really well, we've shared a lot of good
moments in the Fed Cup."
Wickmayer will play Barthel in Friday's semi-finals, while Radwanska will play the winner of the Hampton-Bertens match.