Adelaide International 2: Daria Kasatkina downs Petra Kvitova in last-eight clash

Daria Kasatkina reached the semi-finals of the Adelaide International 2 on Thursday. The fifth seed beat Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals, 6-3, 7-6(3) after an hour and 32 minutes of play.

Both players didnā€™t win much second-serve points, winning around 39%. But Kasatkina fared better when it came to winning first-serve points ā€“ she won 70% to the Czechā€™s 56%. Kasatkina saved five of the eight break points she faced while converting five of the 10 break points she had on Kvitovaā€™s serve.

Adelaide International: Caroline Garcia toppled

After her win, Kasatkina said, ā€œIt was a hurricane inside after losing the [6-5] game, after being just one point away from the win. But I knew with Petra it doesn’t matter the score, you have to always be ready for everything, because she’s fighting until the end and she’s very aggressive. You get a few winners [by Kvitova] and she’s back. So, I’m really happy with my performance, the way I was able to keep my focus with the tiebreak, of course.ā€

Next up for Kasatkina is Paula Badosa. The ninth seed from Spain needed two hours and 34 minutes to get past 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, 7-6(5), 7-5. The match had three breaks of serve, two of which came on the Brazilianā€™s serve.

Meanwhile, in the top half of the draw, eighth seed Belinda Bencic knocked out the fourth-seeded Caroline Garcia in their quarter-final meeting. The Swiss won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 after an hour and 53 minutes of play.

Bencic failed to save both break points she faced while also going on to break Garciaā€™s serve four times across the match.

For a place in the Adelaide International 2 final, Bencic will now play Veronika Kudermetova. The sixth seed came from down a set while staving of five match points to claim a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 win over 10th seed Danielle Collins after two hours and 47 minutes of play.