Yay for this one… The first of the semi-finals at the 2016 Volvo Car Open in Charleston will be a tantalising match-up between the number one seed and defending champion, Angelique Kerber and the number seven seed, Sloane Stephens.
Kerber produced a classy display to defeat a fatigued Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-2 6-3. The Romanian player was impatient throughout, committing 35 unforced errors in the 72-minute contest. It would seem that three consecutive three setters and seven hours and 33 minutes on court took its toll for Begu. Kerber though, played a great match and is beginning to rediscover the form she produced in Australia. Hitting 18 winners to 9 unforced errors, Kerber soaked up the pressure from Begu but also, wasn’t afraid to go for her shots when the opportunity arose, taking the forehand down-the-line early.
In a fascinating second quarter-final, Stephens saved a match point to prevail against the 18-year-old, Daria Kasatkina, 6-1 5-7 7-5. The American played a tremendous opener, keeping things steady and drilling backhands down-the-line. Kasatkina looked nervous and folded a little after being unable to hold at *1-2 *40-0. She was too reactive, waiting for Stephen’s shots and perched way behind the baseline.
This pattern continued in the second set; however Kasatkina hung around, saving all seven break points she faced in the set, including coming back from *0-40 down at 3-3 and saving five break points in that particular game. Stephens was doing a remarkable job at getting over those missed opportunities with clinical holds. However, the pressure finally told at the end with Kasatkina breaking for the set at 6-5 on her third set point.
The wind was an issue again in the third set, particularly for Stephens who was beginning to miss more and more. After an exchange of breaks midway through the decider, Kasatkina had a huge hold at 4-4, saving two break points with some smart kick-serves. In the next game, she earnt a match point… Kasatkina couldn’t take it though with Stephens finishing a longgg rally on a superb inside-out forehand winner. The forehand came to the rescue again as Stephens clawed her way out the game.
Stephens won the last 11 points of the match, claiming a huge battling win. While she was playing well enough to win this in two, the American did remarkably well to weather the storm in the decider and stay focussed down match point. For Kasatkina, it was another tough loss and in a similar vein to the one in Doha against Roberta Vinci where she had three match points. I don’t feel we saw the best of Kasatkina at all in this match (15 winners to 43 unforced errors) and she was passive through large chunks of the match. Her stickability and fighting spirit was superb but she wasn’t bold enough when it mattered with Stephens being rewarded for going for her shots. But with Kasatkina… 18 years old! This will be another key match in the learning experience…
Head-to-head record: Kerber and Stephens are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head; both previous matches came at Indian Wells where Kerber won in 2012, 2-6 7-5 6-4 and Stephens won in 2015, 7-6(6) 6-2.
Interesting stat: When Stephens has won a match at a WTA tournament in 2016, she’s gone on to win the title…
Analysis: Based on the quarter-final performances, Kerber had a much more straightforward match and looked at ease. Stephens had a real test but will be dangerous, having survived from match point down. This will no doubt give the American a huge boost of confidence, much like it did for Kerber at the Australian Open when she saved a match point in her first round match against Misaki Doi. Edging very slightly towards Stephens but this one is really too close to call. While I will admit that I am a little sad we didn’t get Kerber-Kasatkina, Kerber-Stephens is still a fantastic semi-final match-up… fingers crossed for a great match!
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Yeah it wasn’t Kasatkina’s best match for sure. She seemed afraid to step in and take the ball earlier, which is understandable given the weight of shot Stephens was sending her way and how accurate she was being with her groundstrokes too. Her plan B would have been to mix in slices but the wind makes that tricky against a heavy ball and so she wasn’t left with many options. The fact that she made it so competitive playing so below her best and given that Stephens was pretty ON for large portions of the match makes me all the more impressed by her though.\
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I also feel Sloane stands a better chance at beating Kerber than Kasatkina does (at the point in her career).
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All good points, looking forward to see how Kasatkina continues to progress during this clay court season. She’s looking good for a seeding at Roland Garros.
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What has impressed me with Sloane this season is that when she is behind she does not give up,before she would not fight and stay in the match.Well done Sloane,you also went for your shots in the match.You will need to do the same against Kerber.Good Luck!
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Kerebr to win in three sets.Sloane can have the initial advantage and grab the opening set
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Hmm…by the poll’s results it seems no one gives two bollocks about who makes the finals , Errani or Vesnina. Vesnina has been playing great, clear tennis. I think Errani will get this one though.
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I only just put up the Errani-Vesnina poll 😉
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I had picked Kerber and Errani to be in the semifinals and here they are 🙂
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I pick Sloane Stephens to win in three sets against Angelique Kerber. She has the homecourt advantage and will have the crowd supporting her as a homecrowd favorite. Kerber is the defending champion and will be under more pressure than Stephens. I feel that Kerber’s serve has really fluctuated throughout the tournament. Sometimes, she’ll serve more aces than double faults. But, sometimes it’ll be more double faults than aces.
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Bad luck Angie who had to retire early in the 2nd set,when Sloane plays tennis like she did in the 1st set she makes it look too easy.
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Sloane outplayed Kerber. Kerber retired to avoid 6-0 humiliation.
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Are you actually allowed to do that (retire from a match if you’re losing badly but are not not genuinely sick or injured)? If so it’s the first time I’ve heard of anyone doing that and I don’t think Kerber’s that kind of player anyway – she’d stick it out to the bitter end. If I’m wrong I’m willing to stand corrected.
Well done to Sloane anyway.
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sloane was abusing her in that match and kerber made an excuse to quit imo. its a shame tennis players are that mentally weak, I’ve seen this before.
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I wouldn’t take any notice of these comments about Kerber, Graham! She seems to have her haters in the comments section here and they’ll find any opportunity to say something negative about her.
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In other news; well done to both Domi Cibulkova and Camila Giorgi for making the final at Katowice; Domi’s been playing particularly well this last week. It should be a great match tomorrow.
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What a year this is shaping up for Sloane Stephens. This time last year she’d never been in a WTA final and now she’s up for her fourth title!
I’m not sure she has the mental strength to be a top five player but she has it all when it comes to talent!
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