Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Marketa Vondrousova reaches the semifinals after victory over Sabalenka
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for the first time. She beat world number two Aryna Sabalenka 3:6, 6:3, 7:5 after a patient performance.
by Florian Goosmann from Stuttgart
last edit: Apr 19, 2024, 05:17 pm
When Aryna Sabalenka plays, it's often all or nothing. Sabalenka prefers the fast ball, and in recent years she has learned to wait a little better for the right moment to really pick up the pace.
Friday afternoon in Stuttgart was another step backwards in this regard. The two-time Australian Open winner made mistakes en masse at times against the patient Marketa Vondrousova, who was almost always on the defensive but played smart when she was on the attack.
The fact that it was a close match was thanks to Sabalenka's good phases in between - but in the end there were too few. Vondrousova managed the last break of a total of 13 (!) to make it 6:5, two backhand return errors sealed the end for the three-time finalist here in Stuttgart, who so wanted to finally win her first Porsche. And now has to wait a year for her next chance.
Vondrousova with first win after four defeats against Sabalenka
"She is a great player. I tried to stay well in the rallies," Vondrousova said, summarizing her not-so-big secret of victory - after four recent defeats against the Belarusian.
Vondrousova will face Coco Gauff or Marta Kostyuk on Saturday.
Elena Rybakina had previously reached the round of the last four. The 2022 Wimbledon champion beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. She is waiting for the winner of the match between defending champion Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu.
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