Kerber’s takedown of 2008 champion Maria Sharapova in the third round was impressive; but her fightback from a set down against Su-Wei Hsieh spoke volumes about her ability to adapt in a match and think on her feet.
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Asked why she was taking this defeat in stride, she replied, “I’m evolving”.
Halep, from Romania, is aiming to reach her third grand slam final.
Keys can be extremely tough when she is serving big and swinging with confidence, as she showed against Caroline Garcia, the rising French star, in the fourth round here. “She is hitting the ball so hard and I was just trying from the beginning, I played the whole week just going out there playing my game and enjoying it”, Kerber said.
It took top seed Halep one hour and 13 minutes to overcome sixth seed Pliskova in the quarterfinals, reports Efe.
Kerber’s semifinal opponent will be decided later Wednesday in a quarter-final match between top-ranked Simona Halep and No. 6 Karolina Pliskova.
“I was going out there and trying to playing my tennis again and it was a good feeling again”.
“I don’t know, in the last game at 40-0, I thought it was time to do a ceremony or something like that”, Chung told Jim Courier in the on-court interview. Thats why maybe I can win against her, she said. “She’s strong on the backhand side”, Pliskova said, after falling to 1-6 lifetime against Halep.
The American never settled into the match – much like her US Open final appearance, when she was similarly crushed by Sloane Stephens – with her poor record against Kerber perhaps in her mind.
But Halep then won NINE games in row and 12 of the next 14 to win the match 6-3 6-2. Keys and Kerber were the two dominant players through the first four rounds of play in Melbourne.
The only Grand Slam victor left in the draw kept her hopes of a second Melbourne Park title alive with a battling 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory after being run ragged by unseeded Hsieh, ranked 88.
The 30-year-old said while that was an important area of her game, becoming more aggressive was also a focus. After winning four matches at the exhibition Hopman Cup team event in Perth, Australia, Kerber has won 10 straight official matches to start the season.
In contrast, US Open finalist Madison Keys was in fine touch as she benefits from the guidance of former great Lindsay Davenport.
The former saw off No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets, while the latter did the same against Madison Keys in Melbourne.
“I think she has an ability to cover the court and anticipate like really no one else does”, said the 22-year-old, who first reached the semi-finals in Melbourne as a teenager in 2015.
The first set was incredibly competitive and very entertaining, with both women playing well, though it was Strycova who was able to edge it and put herself in control. “Stay aggressive, make her move”, Wozniacki said.
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“I went to sleep at seven in the morning yesterday”, lamented the world No. 6.
