Petra Kvitova to face Cirstea in Miami Open semifinals

• Petra Kvitova reached her first Miami Open semis after securing a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova on Thursday
• The two-time Wimbledon champion will face Sorana Cirstea in the last four later on Friday

Petra Kvitova reached her first Miami Open semis after securing a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ekaterina Alexandrova on Thursday.

The 33-year-old had previously fell at the quarterfinals stage three times to different players who have all reached world No.1. She lost to Maria Sharapova in 2014, Ashleigh Barty in 2019 and Iga Swiatek in 2022. Barty and Swiatek went on to win the Miami Open title those years.

Petra Kvitova. Photo/ Head Topics.

Petra Kvitova, who is a two-time Wimbledon champion, will face Sorana Cirstea in the last four on Friday. Cirstea recorded the biggest win of her career on Wednesday as she stunned world number two Aryna Sabalenka to book her spot in the semifinals.

Petra Kvitova Beats Ekaterina Alexandrova

Petra Kvitova and Ekaterina Alexandrova were to meet on Wednesday night before rain washed out their match. The two met on a relatively drier Thursday where Petra prevailed to reach her first Miami Open semi-final at the 13th attempt.

Petra immediately applied pressure on her opponent’s serve, earning three break points in two games. She took the final one when a forehand from Ekaterina flew over the baseline. With the breakthrough secured, Petra remained calm for the remainder of the opening set.

Ekaterina did well to save two set points at 4-5 but there was little that she could do to stop Petra from serving out the first set. The Russian managed to tighten things at the start of the second set and apply some pressure on the Petra serve.

Ekaterina struck at her next opportunity, seizing the initiative at the fifth time of trying. She then served out the set with the momentum on her side to force a decider.

While 4-3 up in the third set, Petra earned two break points in her first real chance. A huge serve out wide set up two match points for her, but she squandered the first. However, she was not making another mistake in the second attempt as Ekaterina fired a shot into the net.

Speaking after her victory, Petra said that it was not an easy match as she praised Ekaterina.

“I have to say it was a tough one, for sure, especially mentally. Ekaterina played amazing. I would say she was really striking the ball very clearly, and it was really difficult to face some serves of hers.” Hologic WTA Tour quotes Petra Kvitova.

Cirstea Surprised Sabalenka 

World number two Aryna Sabalenka suffered a surprise straight-set defeat as Sorana Cirstea got the biggest win of her career.

Sorana Cirstea will face Petra Kvitova in Miami Open semis. Photo/ Yahoo.

The unseeded Cirstea beat Sabalenka 6-4 6-4 in a thrilling match on Wednesday evening. She is yet to drop a set in a five-match streak in Miami, which has also seen her eliminate world No. 4 Caroline Garcia.

Cirstea’s latest victory took her to her first WTA 1000 semi-final since finishing runner-up to Serena Williams in 2013 at Toronto.