Sunday February 3, 2013
Bartoli and Kvitova bow out in Paris, Errani in semi-finals
PARIS: French number one Marion Bartoli bowed out in the quarter-finals of the Paris Open on Friday after a 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 defeat to Germany’s Mona Barthel.
Bartoli was aiming to cap her recall to the Fed Cup team this week after a nine-year exile with a maiden triumph in the French capital, but the world No. 10 came up short as she faltered badly at key moments.
The third seed, runner-up in last year’s tournament, led 6-2 in the first-set tie-break but squandered four set points as Barthel, ranked 45th, escaped from a perilous position to move in front.
The German then secured an early break that proved decisive in the second set with Bartoli unable to offer any resistance to Barthel’s serve.
Barthel will now face French teenager Kristina Mladenovic in the semi-finals after the 19-year-old stunned world number eight Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4.
Mladenovic, who was included alongside Bartoli in France’s Fed Cup team for next week’s clash with Germany, capitalised on three service breaks to take the first set and kept her foot on the throttle in the second to send Kvitova crashing out.
Italian top seed Sara Errani avenged her defeat to Carla Suarez Navarro at last month’s Australian Open, as she edged past the Spaniard to reach the last four.
World number seven Errani was a first-round casualty in Melbourne following a straight sets loss to Suarez Navarro, but the Italian demonstrated her typical craft and determination to earn a gruelling 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 win in just over three hours.
Dutch player Kiki Bertens followed up her second-round win over Dominika Cibulkova – her first triumph over a top 20 opponent – by casting aside 18th-ranked Lucie Safarova 6-1, 7-5.
The 21-year-old, who made the main draw as a lucky loser following the illness-enforced withdrawal of Czech Lucie Hradecka, broke sixth seed Safarova three times as she cruised through the opening set.
Bertens then again broke her Czech opponent early in the second set to seize the initiative before Safarova recovered to level at 4-4.
But a loose service game at 5-5 from Safarova presented Bertens with the opportunity to serve for a place in the semis and she took full advantage, closing it out with an ace on her first match point. — AFP
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