Some more surprising subtoppers made their way further into this China Open at the expense of seeded players in the third round and the quarterfinals.
Oprandi upset Ivanovic in the third round: 6-4, 6-3 before being brushed off by Azarenka in the quarterfinal: 2-6, 0-6. The number one had defeated Vesnina the round before: 6-3, 6-3.
Azarenka will take on Bartoli in the semifinal after the French woman had much difficulty getting there. In the third round she had to overcome a powerful Goerges: 6-3, 7-6 after the German kept coming back to haunt and taunt her. In the quarterfinal she met Suarez Navarro after the strong Spanish player outplayed Jankovic in the third round: 7-5, 6-4. My money was on Bartoli, definitely after she won the first set: 6-0. When I checked the score a little after that, suddenly it was: 6-0, 2-6, 0-3 with Suarez Navarro having points to expand her lead to: 4-0. Bartoli needed every ounce of determination and she battled towards a: 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 win. Very impressive but maybe she's run out of energy to take on Azarenka in the semifinal.
On the other side of the draw, the seeded players did their part. Sharapova overcame Hercog quite easily: 6-0, 6-2 in the third round. Radwanska needed three sets for it, but won against Spanish Lino: 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The other two matches of the third round in the down draw featured Kerber vs. Wozniacki and an all Chinese mash-up between Na Li and Peng.
The Chinese crowd got a treat with that set-up as the two Chinese brought quality to the court in their two hour and 30 minutes match. Na Li struggled with her serve (16 double faults!) so the final set went to a tiebreak where mighty Na Li prevailed: 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3).
The Kerber - Wozniacki match was also quite spectacular. The German won the first set easily: 6-1 so nobody expected Wozniacki to take that second set: 6-2 (her dad had work motivating her again as shown in the photo). We saw flashes of the former number one but it was mostly Kerber who let the set slip. Luckily she tackled on that third set with full confidence and Wozniacki fought back with pure agression. The third set became a real thriller where Kerber eventually won: 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
It's a shame Kerber needed to withdraw from the China Open in the quarterfinal against Sharapova after trailing: 0-6, 0-3.
The last quarterfinal was between Na Li and Agnieszka Radwanska (quite a difference in name length!). Last year's victor had much difficulty holding her own serve while Na Li avoided the double faults. It seemed Radwanska didn't have the motivation anymore at the end of the year and lost: 4-6, 2-6. Now Na Li is certain of her Istanbul spot for the WTA Championships!
Keep posted for the Sharapova - Na Li & Azarenka - Bartoli semifinals!
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