WTA TENNIS STAR PETRA KVITOVA LEADS SEMI-FINAL CHARGE IN BIRMINGHAM • NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC • RESULTS • ORDER OF PLAY

Written by: Staff on 22nd June 2018

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

WTA TENNIS STAR PETRA KVITOVA LEADS SEMI-FINAL CHARGE IN BIRMINGHAM • NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC • RESULTS • ORDER OF PLAY

epa06779912 Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic plays Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during their women?s third round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 02 June 2018. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON |

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic plays Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during their women’s third round match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 02 June 2018. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

Kvitova leads the charge in Saturday’s semi-finals in Birmingham

Defending champion Petra Kvitova will be bidding for a place in the Nature Valley Classic final for the second consecutive year when she takes on in-form Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu in Saturday’s semi-finals at the Edgbaston Priory Club.

Kvitova has looked in imperious form so far this week at the Edgbaston Priory Club and has yet to drop a set in the defence of the title she won under such emotional circumstances a year ago. She is bidding to become the first woman to win back-to-back titles in Birmingham since Maria Sharapova in 2004 and 2005.

Kvitova looked in dazzling form in dismissing Julia Goerges 61 64 with a sure-footed performance that belied the fact that it was only her third match on grass this year. She is wary of the challenge of playing Buzarnescu, a player who has improved her ranking this year with a series of eye-catching performances on different surfaces. She proved too strong for a below-par Elina Svitolina, beating the second seed 63 62.

“I think she’s pretty confident right now,” said Kvitova, seeded fourth, of Buzarnescu. “She’s in good form as we see. She’s a lefty. Probably she likes the grass as well using a lefty serve. I mean, she’s playing with the confidence with nothing to lose. Like for me she seems to be really relaxed every time she’s on the court, off the court. That’s probably her biggest weapon now.”

Old friends Magdalena Rybarikova and Barbora Strycova face each other in Saturday’s other semi-final after former Birmingham champion Rybarikova dismissed qualifier Dalilia Jakupovic 62 64 and Strycova’s opponent Lesia Tsurenko was forced to retire with left hip pain.

Strycova revealed that she and Rybarikova have been enjoying watching the football World Cup together this week. “We know each other so many years already. She’s just so normal,” said Strycova. “We go out. We talk about other stuff than tennis. We really get along very well. We have a lot of fun together. We watch every night football here. Going to be today as well. I don’t like football much, but when it’s World Cup, I am expert!”

This week has seen record sales at the WTA Premier event, with crowds flocking to the Edgbaston Priory Club thanks to sunny skies and a star-studded line-up of players. A handful of tickets are still available for Saturday and Sunday but, with a favourable weather forecast, are likely to be much in demand.

NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC – BIRMINGHAM – BIRMINGHAM, UK

$871,028

JUNE 18 – 24, 2018

RESULTS – JUNE 22, 2018

Singles – Quarterfinals

M. Buzarnescu (ROU) d [2] [WC] E. Svitolina (UKR) 63 62

[4] P. Kvitova (CZE) d [5] J. Goerges (GER) 61 64

B. Strycova (CZE) d L. Tsurenko (UKR) 75 30 Retired

M. Rybarikova (SVK) d [Q] D. Jakupovic (SLO) 62 64

Doubles – Quarterfinals

E. Mertens (BEL) / D. Schuurs (NED) d H. Chan (TPE) / Z. Yang (CHN) 63 76(3)

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2018

ANN JONES CENTRE COURT start 11:30 am

B. Strycova (CZE) vs M. Rybarikova (SVK)

[4] P. Kvitova (CZE) vs M. Buzarnescu (ROU)

[1] T. Babos (HUN) / K. Mladenovic (FRA) vs [4] B. Krejcikova (CZE) / K. Siniakova (CZE)

E. Mertens (BEL) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs N. Melichar (USA) / K. Peschke (CZE)

You can watch this year’s Nature Valley Classic live on British Eurosport.

For more information on this year’s Nature Valley Classic and our other British Tennis events, please visit www.lta.org.uk/major-events. Limited tickets are still available to the Nature Valley Classic (16-24 June) and can be purchased online via www.theticketfactory.com/ltac/online/, by phone on 0844 581 4995 or from the box office onsite at the Edgbaston Priory Club, with tickets from £10.

2018 NATURE VALLEY CLASSIC

Don’t miss out on your ticket to summer! Catch world-class players in action at one of the British Tennis events, formed of the Nature Valley Open, Nature Valley Classic, Nature Valley International, Fever-Tree Championships and Fuzion 100 Trophy Series. Secure your seat as tickets are selling fast. Book now at www.lta.org.uk/major-events

Topics: 10sballs, Eastbourne, Grass tennis, Nature Valley International, Petra Kvitova, Sports, Tennis, Wta