#4 seed Angelique Kerber and #8 seed Sabine Lisicki managed to survive on a day of upsets at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham after Kerber put out 19 year old Katerina Siniakova 6-2 6-4 while grass-court specialist Sabine Lisicki fought of a first set come back from former Birmingham champion Daniela Hantuchova, winning 7-6(2) 6-4. The two will battle it out in an all-German semifinal clash on Saturday.
Kerber, the highest seed remaining left in the draw, was the first of the two German women to restore order on a day of upsets in Birmingham after a comfortable victory over the young Czech player, who had already put out a seed earlier in the week–#7 seed Andrea Petkovic.
Kerber started her match well against her Czech opponent, racing out to an early 4-2 lead, which she wouldn’t let slip without a fight–breaking her opponent twice throughout the first set to take a comfortable 6-2 match lead and laying down the gauntlet for the rest of the field.
With the first set a veritable walk-over for World #10 Kerber, the German didn’t have it all her way in the second. After finding herself a break up it was Siniakova who started playing like a top seed, breaking back to hold at 3-5. Kerber wasn’t to be deterred for long, taking her first match point on serve to win in straight sets.
Speaking after the match Kerber was very complimentary of her gutsy opponent. “The score wasn’t so close, but every game was advantage, deuce. And she played very well. But I knew she’d play very well, because I saw the matches she played before this, and she also beat Andrea. I was ready for it and happy with my performance.”
Kerber will face old foe Lisicki on Saturday in what will be their 6th meeting, with all of their previous meetings going the way of Kerber. The last meeting between the two women was at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships where Kerber won in three tight sets, 6-3 6-7(7) 7-5.
World #19 Lisicki booked her place in the last semi-final spot of the day, proving she wasn’t to be bitten by the upset bug in Birmingham. The match between Lisicki and Hantuchova was a juicy clash between two former champions at the Aegon Classic; it was the 2011 champion Lisicki who started the match the better of the two, racing out to an early 2-0 lead. The 2013 champion Hantuchova wasn’t down for long, breaking the German straight back to level proceedings. In a match between two former champions it was expected to be a close encounter, with the two players trading breaks numerous times throughout the first set, which eventually went to a tiebreak.
Unlike the close first set, the tiebreak was one-way traffic, with Lisicki storming out to a 4-point lead before eventually taking it 7-2. Lisicki showed guts in the first set, despite losing her advantage twice in the opening set she re-grouped to get the job done in the tiebreak.
The second set was a more one-sided affair, with Lisicki firmly sinking her teeth into the match she pounced on any opportunity she got from her Slovakian opponent. After sharing early moments in the second set at 2-2 Hantuchova wasn’t to win another game; Lisicki eventually took the match in straight sets.
Speaking of her chances against her friend, Lisicki joked, “I heard it’s not the best record, and I really hope to change that!” Lisicki added, “We actually practiced this week together. Yeah, I didn’t know that I had such a bad record against her, but I’m just happy to be back on the grass, back in the semifinals. I’ve played some good matches, and I think I can still improve. I’m just happy to be back in a position and have a chance to get to the final”.
Despite having a poor record against her opponent, Lisicki will enter the match as the more experienced of the two women, having won this title back in 2011, and the match should be far more even that the head to head suggests.
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