Kerber, Wozniacki advance into US Open last eight
NEW YORK: Angelique Kerber won a battle of grand slam champions when the second seed powered her way into the quarter-finals of the US Open yesterday with a 6-3 7-5 win over Petra Kvitova.
By reaching the last eight, Kerber has put herself in position to end Serena Williams’ long reign as world number one.
Williams, bidding for a record seventh US Open title, will now need to reach the final to have a chance of retaining top spot.
The fourth-round match had a definite grand slam pedigree to it, with Kerber, the Australian Open champion, going against twice Wimbledon champion Kvitova but failed to deliver any major excitement.
Kerber was in command from the start, winning all the big points on way to taking the opening set.
Kerber’s victory set up an intriguing last eight clash with Italy’s Roberta Vinci, last year’s surprise runner-up advancing with a 7-6 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
There was no great escape this time for Madison Keys as a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki locked the eighth seeded American out of the quarter-finals with a tidy 6-3 6-4 win yesterday.
Wozniacki, a US Open finalist in 2009 and 2014 but unseeded this year after being sidelined for two months by an ankle injury, dominated from the start and wrapped up victory in a speedy 78 minutes on a sun-splashed Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
“I know that when I play my best I’m tough to beat and I just do my thing,” said the 74thranked Wozniacki, who will next meet Latvian Anastasija Sevastova. “I’m not surprised that I could make it this far because I always believe in myself and I always think that when I get on court I’ll win the match. ”
Wozniacki, who completed the New York City marathon inside three hours, 30 minutes after her loss to Serena Williams in the 2014 final, is back in full stride, as she showed by chasing down every shot that Keys conjured up.