Miami Open semifinals: Petra Kvitova advances for the first time

Petra Kvitova, the No.15 seed, advanced to the Miami Open semifinals for the first time in her career after defeating No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Thursday.

Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, was in her fourth Miami quarterfinal, but she had never advanced past that stage until Thursday. Kvitova’s strong forehands gave her an early break in the first set, and she converted an ace on her third set point to seal the victory.

Alexandrova, on the other hand, improved in the second set, smashing several smashes on the line and breaking the tiebreaker with a spectacular backhand crosscourt service return. Alexandrova held on from there to tie the match at one set apiece.

Kvitova held for 4-3 after saving a break point in the decisive game of the third set. She began to fight back from that point on. Kvitova won the match by converting her second match point in the next game, with a crosscourt forehand that forced a mistake and broke for 5-3.

Both players had the same amount of winners and unforced errors. Kvitova committed 19 unforced errors to Alexandrova’s 26 wins and 26 unforced errors. In the end, Kvitova’s only additional break in the decisive set proved to be the deciding factor in her victory.