#KikiBertens extended her one-sided head-to-head record against the biggest rising start on the tour currently, #ArynaSabalenka, who is ranked 10th on the #WTA rankings. A battle between two top-10 stars in the semifinals of the #StPetersburgLadiesTrophy saw some high-quality tennis being produced as the Dutch put up a fantastic performance to seal the stunning 7-6, 6-2 win over the Belarusian.
It is completely amazing how much Bertens had improved over the past year, removing her clay court specialist tag and proving her credentials on other surfaces like grass and hard courts. With the slow court conditions here in St. Petersburg favouring the world number eight, Bertens put up a clinical display as she performed well both on the defence and the offence.
Sabalenka, having broken into the top-10 after a third-round showing at the Australian Open, is competing in her maiden tournament as a player of that category. She performed well to reach the semifinals, although she lacked the necessary variety and patience to outhit Bertens, falling to a third consecutive defeat against the WTA Finals semifinalist.
Bertens, who now leads the tour in the number of aces, fired nine aces and won 76 percent of points behind her strong first serves. Comparatively, Sabalenka was unable to exploit the power of her serves — defending just 57 percent of her first serves and 48 percent of her vulnerable second serves.
It was a disappointing display from Sabalenka, who was relatively impatient and inconsistent which saw her commit 36 unforced errors and finding just 18 winners along the way. Whereas, Bertens was outrageously impressive today, blasting 29 winners to just 23 unforced errors. Her reward? A place in her first final of the year, where she will face the in-form Donna Vekic.
Bertens edges the titanic first set
It was a slow start from Sabalenka, who was just starting to get herself into the atmosphere as she overcooked some routine shots and allowed Bertens to grab the break in the opening game. Bertens, whose serve looked so good in St. Petersburg this week, fired consecutive aces to consolidate the break with ease — sending out a warning sign to her opponent.
Sabalenka followed suit, getting onto the scoreboard with a clean service hold to love. This seemed to have finally provided her with the momentum, as the Belarusian played some smart points by targetting the weaker backhand wing of Bertens before the Dutch threw in an unfortunate double-fault on break point to level the scores.
The series of service holds followed, and we did not witness another service break until the second set. However, Bertens earned two break points in the seventh game, but it was Sabalenka who prevailed in what could be the best point of the match as she survived a netcord and produced an excellent backhand winner to stay alive. A fantastic dropshot winner from the world number 10 then sealed the nervy hold.
It was then Bertens’ turn to get into trouble, as she was forced to fend off multiple break point opportunities as well, but it was a combination of solid backhands and a strong serve which allowed her to remain in contention and level the scores at 4-4.
Surprisingly, the tiebreak saw the server winning only three of the 12 points and it was Bertens’ nerves of steel which saw her remain solid at the baseline and ultimately outlast her aggressive opponent. A huge backhand return winner saw Sabalenka minimizing the deficit to just one point in the tiebreak, having saved two set points.
Bertens had her third chance, and just when Sabalenka was on the charge throughout the point, the Dutch came up with an out-of-the-world passing winner to steal the high-quality first set after a marathon. There were contrasting reactions: the loud “Come On” came from Bertens while an astray ball went into the crowd from Sabalenka.
Bertens strolls to the huge win
Riding on her momentum, it was one-way traffic from Bertens as she strolled to claim the confidence-boosting service hold in the second set. Sabalenka was getting increasingly frustrated with herself, and the replay of that iconic Bertens forehand winner on set point left its mark in her mind as she was certainly troubled by it through the remainder of the match.
The errors continued to come from Sabalenka, who sent in a disastrous dropshot which did not even bounce anywhere near the net on game point. She would rue her missed opportunity as yet another backhand went into the net and Bertens led by a set and a break, putting herself in pole position for the victory.
Sabalenka’s woes continued as she failed to find her best tennis at the crucial moments — allowing Bertens to escape from the following two games despite going to deuce on both occasions. The Dutchwoman soon found herself leading by a double-break, and the match was all but over at that point in time.
However, the determined Sabalenka continued to dig for chances, and she spurred up the fire within her as Bertens committed a rare series of forehand errors to get broken straight back. The Belarusian, retrieving one of the breaks back, minimized the deficit to just two games as an improbable comeback looked on the courts — considering Sabalenka’s game is built upon her momentum and rhythm.
Bertens was in a dangerous position as she served at 4-2 15-30, but rebounded to claim the match-deciding service hold as Sabalenka sent a return way past the baseline. Serving to stay in the match, the flaw of the world number 10’s game appeared: she put herself in a perfect position to close out the game, but failed to convert as unforced errors crept into her game. This paved a way for Bertens to break serve for the fourth time in the afternoon, sealing the outstanding win after an hour and 38-minutes of play.
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