Keothavong books semi-final spot
Anne outlasts Erakovic in three…
Anne Keothavong is through to her second WTA Tour semi-final of the year after coming through a tight quarter-final in Memphis on Thursday.
The British No.1 recovered from a second set wobble to get past fifth-seeded New Zealander Marina Erakovic 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.
‘My next match against Wozniacki will be tough but I feel ready’
In the semi-finals of the $220,000 indoor event Keothavong will take on top seed and world No.12 Caroline Wozniacki who got past Michaella Krajicek from the Netherlands in three sets.
It will be the second time already this year that the Londoner, seeded fourth in Memphis, will be bidding for a place in her first ever Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final.
After a three-set first round victory and a tough second round match on Wednesday, the Briton’s quarter-final proved to be another battle.
The 25-year-old from London was slow out of the blocks but more than made up for it once she’d settled into the match.
Erakovic opened up a 2-0 lead before Keothavong hit back to rattle off six successive games to take the opening set.
The match completely turned after the first set as Erakovic scrapped her way through several tight games to force a decider.
Keothavong’s serve dropped off – she found the mark with just 47% of her first serves during the second set – and she missed chance after chance to take the Kiwi’s serve, converting just one of ten break points.
Her erratic form was a thing of the past as soon as the decider began though, the Englishwoman breaking twice during the final set to wrap up her third victory of the week after two hours and three minutes on court.
“I’m pleased to get through another match here in Memphis and be in the semis of a WTA tournament for the second time this year,” said Keothavong, who also made the last four in Auckland, New Zealand, in January.
“Today’s match was a little up and down, the first set was pretty solid from me and then I went walkabout in the second.
“My first serve percentage wasn’t good enough in the second set but I still had game points and break points in almost every game.
“There were a few close calls and over-rules from the umpire that didn’t go my way but I managed to regroup and was very fired up for the third set where I came up with some good tennis.
“My next match against Wozniacki will be a tough one but I feel ready and will give it my best shot.”
Keothavong will be bidding to become the first British woman to reach a tour singles final since Jo Durie at Newport in 1990.
In the bottom half of the draw second seed Victoria Azarenka will take on German sixth seed Sabine Lisicki for a place in the final.
Azarenka beat Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-2 in her quarter-final while Lisicki took out third-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-4.
Friday Order of Play
STADIUM (start 10.00am local)
[6] S Lisicki (GER) vs [2] V Azarenka (BLR) – WTA
Not Before 12:00 PM
I Kunitsyn (RUS) vs [Q] D Sela (ISR) – ATP
[5] R Stepanek (CZE) vs [2] J Del Potro (ARG) – ATP
[1] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [4] A Keothavong (GBR) – WTA
Not Before 6:30 PM
[1] [WC] A Roddick (USA) vs [8] S Querrey (USA) – ATP
L Hewitt (AUS) vs C Rochus (BEL) – ATP