World number one Angelique Kerber defeated defending champion Heather Watson 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico.Germany’s Kerber saved all eight break points she faced in a gritty display against Britain’s Watson, setting up a semi-final clash with fourth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, who was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over French seventh seed Alize Cornet.
”I think it was a good match, especially at the end,” said Kerber, who made early breaks in each set stand up despite the pressure applied by Watson.Three-time champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the second seed, battled through three sets to defeat fifth-seeded Hungarian Timea Babos 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
Russia’s Pavlyuchenkova needed almost two hours to turn back a late charge from Babos.She had appeared to be cruising when she took the opening set in less than 20 minutes..But Babos grabbed a late break in the second set to force the third.Babos earned the first break of the decisive set, and missed three chances to make it a double break before Pavlyuchenkova broke back to knot the set at 3-3, finally seizing her chance to close out the match on Babos’s serve.
”I started to feel the tiredness a little bit - it’s been a long and tough trip for me - but I just stayed calm anyhow,” said Pavlyuchenkova, who lifted the trophy in Monterrey in 2010, 2011 and 2013.”
- AFP