Kvitova Escapes Wild Card to Reach Sydney Semis

World number four Petra Kvitova received a scare from Australian wild card Jarmila Gajdosova, dropping the first set only to recover for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal victory. Kvitova was trailing 4-3 on her serve in the third set when the Czech held, won four straight points on Gajdosova’s serve to break and then held again to close out her opponent, winning in just over two hours.

The win puts her into the semifinals for the second straight season and she will see a familiar opponent in Tsvetana Pironkova. The Bulgarian ousted Kvitova in the semis last year on her way to winning the title.

“I think it’s unusual actually to play her again in the same round,” said Kvitova. “It’s funny. We will see how it will go. It will be a good chance for revenge. Pironkova always plays great here, so it’s going to be tough for me.”

Pironkova is seeking to win this tournament as a qualifier for the second consecutive year. She disposed of Russian Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova 6-4, 6-1 in her quarterfinal bout Wednesday.

She actually trailed 4-3 in the first set, before rattling off nine of the match’s final 10 games to push through.

“To be honest, I didn’t really believe that I could go this far again starting from the qualies,” said Pironkova. “The qualifying draw is much harder nowadays, and this is a very strong tournament. So I’m incredibly happy that I’m still here, and I will just try to do it again.”

The other Sydney semifinal will be between fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Kerber shook off a bagel in her first set to come back and defeat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza 0-6, 6-1, 6-4.

“It was like I wasn’t even on the court in the first set,” said Kerber. “I was always one or two steps too slow. But then I woke up and started moving better.”

This is the third straight year Kerber has been a part of the final four in Sydney.

Pliskova came back from a first set defeat to win 12 of the next 16 games for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro.

The WTA Rising Star fired 15 aces, including four in the final game, to dominate Suarez-Navarro. She also converted five of six break points.