Cincinnati: China’s Li Na defeated an injured Venus Williams 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday. Angelique Kerber won the other semi to reach the final scheduled for late on Sunday night.
Wimbledon semifinalist Kerber came through a grueling 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 win over Czech Petra Kvitova to reach her fourth final of the year and her biggest yet.
Earlier, Williams, playing in her first semifinal since the 2010 US Open, was limited in her service speed, which was hovering around a slow 120 kph mark after picking up a back strain shortly before the match began.
“Just in my warm-up it was bothering me. I was like ‘Oh, no’. I tried to fix it between the warm-up and the match, but it didn’t work,” Williams told reporters.
“Right now I don’t know why my back hurts, I just know it hurts. After this I’m going to get an evaluation and see what exactly is happening,” said Williams, who will be keen to regain full fitness for the US Open later this month.
The American, who has come back from illness this year, double-faulted on break point to go 3-2 down in the first set but, relying on her return game, she battled back to 5-5.
But another crucial double-fault on game point allowed Li to sneak back ahead 6-5 and then wrap up the set.
After receiving massage to her back, Williams roared back in the second set to win five consecutive games en route to taking it 6-3 to level the match.
But the exertion of her comeback cost her in the third set where she ran out of energy and was convincingly beaten 6-1 as Li went in for the kill.
Li, the ninth seed, is now a perfect 4-0 in her semifinal matches this year but has yet to win a final. Li’s most recent loss coming at Montreal last week at the hands of Kvitova.
“It’s amazing this year, because in the last two years I hardly got a point in North America. So I’m happy I can be in the final again,” the 2011 French Open champion told reporters.
Kerber’s rise to seventh in the rankings this year has included wins at the Paris indoors and Copenhagen events but her test against Li Na will be the perfect preparation for New York.
The German dominated the opening set with Kvitova making a series of unforced errors but the gritty Czech dug deep to take the contest to a third, making full use of her powerful serve.
Kerber, though, swiftly regained her rhythm to race into a 5-2 lead in the decider against an exhausted looking Kvitova. The German was then broken as she served for the match before sealing the contest just before it reached the two hour mark on her next service game.
Federer, Djokovic through
Meanwhile, in the men’s event, the top two seeds, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic both made it through their semifinal matches to set up their final late on Sunday.
World number one Federer is chasing a fifth title in Cincinnati while Djokovic is hoping to claim his first at the Ohio venue.
Both players were relatively untroubled in their respective semis, Djokovic beating Argentine Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-2 before Federer saw off fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6, 6-3.
Federer has a 15-12 advantage in matches with Djokovic and won their last meeting in the Wimbledon semifinals last month.
“We all know how good he is, especially in the later stages of events, and here conditions are quite fast so I think it’s suited to his style,” the Serb told reporters.
“We have played so many matches against each other. It’s always a big challenge when you play a big rival of yours.”
Federer has already won titles this season at Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rotterdam and Dubai and will look for another psychological boost ahead of the US Open later this month. But the 17-time grand slam winner does not expect Sunday’s final to have too much impact on the last slam of the year.
“I guess it will be helpful to win but then again it’s not going to decide the outcome of the US Open,” said Federer. “We will be on opposite sides of the draw and might not even play each other.” (Reuters)