Petra Kvitova ends Collins' magical run, storms into first Aus Open final
Eighth seed Petra Kvitova ended the fairytale run of American Danielle Collins in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Kvitova won 7-6(2), 6-0 in an hour and 34 minutes.
At the start of the match, both players went at it full throttle, even trading breaks and giving nothing away. However, as the heat soared and the heat stress scale touched 5.0, while play was suspended on the outside courts, the roof was closed both over the Rod Laver Arena and the Margaret Court Arena. While Kvitova did not seem hindered by this decision, Collins was a tad upset and while play resumed, following the closure of the roof, the match's course had tilted firmly in Kvitova's direction.
The world no. 8 stormed through the opening set tie-break, dropping only two points to clinch the set. The second set was, however, more brutal as Collins struggled to retain her hold on her own service games. Kvitova outplayed her thoroughly, moving her around the court before putting her out of position and finishing off with big winners.
Kvitova won 75% points off her first serves, while Collins won 67%. For the second set alone, Kvitova won 90% points off her first sets. But it was staggering that Collins had only nine winners in the match to Kvitova's 30. As compared to Kvitova, Collins had better success at the net, winning the only point she made from the net to Kvitova's 67% (6/9 points) but she never regained her rhythm in the match following the first set.
This is Kvitova's first final at a Major since 2014 Wimbledon. She now awaits Karolina Pliskova or Naomi Osaka in the final. Kvitova leads the head-to-head against Pliskova 3-1, with the latter winning their last encounter at the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore. If Osaka makes it to the final, it will be the first meeting between the two players.
Photo Credit: Ben Solomon (Tennis Australia)
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2FZwqYh
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