Bruce Jenkins:
After a speedy dispatch of Kvitova, Bellis in first semifinal
Atherton’s CiCi Bellis, left, upsets No. 2 seed to reach semifinals in Stanford tennis tourney.
We are past the stage of surprise with CiCi Bellis. She can no longer be considered a teenage novelty, or someone likely to be overpowered by bigger, more powerful players on the women’s tennis tour. Not after Friday evening at Stanford.
Up against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals, Bellis staged a commanding 6-2, 6-0 victory in an hour and two minutes, thrilling a packed house at the Taube Family Tennis Center. It was the biggest career win for the 18-yearold from Atherton, earning a spot in her first semifinal (2 p.m. on Saturday) against 24th-ranked CoCo Vandeweghe.
The second semifinal, requiring a separate ticket at 7 p.m., will be a big-time showcase of power tennis between Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who defeated 20thranked Ana Konjuh 6-1, 6-3 earlier in the day, and Madison Keys, back from a lingering wrist injury and looking solid after defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-3. Vandeweghe had an easy quarterfinal run as well, 6-2, 6-3 over fourth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
This wasn’t the Kvitova who won Wimbledon in 2011 and again three years later. It couldn’t be, not so soon after the horrific incident at her home in Prostejov, Czech Republic, last December. Alone in her apartment, Kvitova was attacked by a knife-wielding man who gained entry on the pretense of checking the utility
meter. Kvitova fought back with a vengeance and the man fled, but not before inflicting wounds that lacerated the tendons in all four fingers and thumb on Kvitova’s left hand. She required four hours of surgery, endured months of mental stress and played only three tournaments leading up to Stanford.
Still, Kvitova won one of those events, the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Birmingham, England. There are no signs that she’s lost any power in her serve or groundstrokes. She didn’t want to come back as a shell of herself, and she has been a source of inspiration to countless players in recent months.
This week, Bellis has generated the inspiration for hundreds of tennis-loving kids and parents in the stands. Everyone knew she could play, that she’s a fighter and a problem solver, and that the future looked pretty good. She seems to have a hurry-up schedule all her own.
“This is huge for me,” she said after the match. “I’m really happy with how I played. I don’t think she played her best tennis, but I played an unbelievable match. I’d be excited to have a win like this anywhere. To do it here, it just means that much more.”
Remarkably, Kvitova never held serve, getting broken all seven times in the match. Double-faults (six) consistently set her back, and Bellis was by far the steadier player from the baseline, often turning defense into offense with her lightningquick footwork and court sense. “I’m a lot less nervous than I was before against (reputable) players like that,” Bellis had said before the match, and it showed. She could not have looked more comfortable against a player once ranked No. 2 in the world.
Although the match whizzed by, Bellis displayed a firstrate arsenal. Within moments of the first game, she cracked a running cross-court backhand winner to earn herself the first of many break points. To go up 3-2, with Kvitova at the net, Bellis lofted a perfectly placed forehand lob. She hammered a forehand cross-court winner on break point to go up 5-2. At set point, she delivered a clean, perfect ace — her only one of the match — right down the T. Closing out the game for 4-0 in the second set, she went to the slice on a running forehand for a stunning cross-court winner.
“One of my biggest strengths is my movement — court coverage and defense,” she said. “Helps me get back into points, so much so that I win them, which is huge.”
With everyone in the press room focusing on Bellis, Kvitova was not asked to come in for an interview. But she offered insight into her mental state earlier in the week, saying, “The worst was in Paris (the French Open, her first tournament upon returning), when I couldn’t put the bad thoughts away. But things got better every week. The recovery process was very tough and very long, and I didn’t know what to expect. I’m just glad I can hold a racket and play tennis.”
Saturday marks the firstever meeting between Bellis and Vandeweghe, 25, who reached the 2012 Stanford final (losing to Serena Williams) and has beaten a number of top-20 players — including Muguruza, Angelique Kerber, Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki — this year. Without question, Vandeweghe and Keys are considered the top American heirs to the throne so comprehensively shared by the Williams sisters.
Bellis would love to be in that company someday. The fast track seems to suit her well.