Stephens Bounced in England; Ivanovic Cruises to Semis

Third-seeded American Sloane Stephens was sent home from the Aegon Classic on Friday, falling to China’s Zhang Shuai 3-6, 1-6 in the quarterfinals from Birmingham, England.

Zhang looked poised from the onset, smashing a couple of nice returns early in the first set to put Stephens back on her heels. She broke Stephens which turned out to be a huge factor, as Stephens was not able to handle Zhang’s serve as the ninth-seed took the first set.

The momentum carried into the second set, as an early double break put Zhang ahead 4-1 and in full control of the quarterfinal match. After fighting off a break chance for Stephens, Zhang capitalized on her opportunity and finished off the 21-year old American to earn a spot in the semifinals.

“I think today when I came out on the court with so many people watching, I was a bit nervous but also knew that it would help me play well,” said Zhang. “A few days ago, I said to my coach that I never played well on grass and found it difficult to move. But I’m learning every day how to play on grass a little bit more and hopefully I will get a few more matches to improve.”

Zhang did not play in a grass match at all last year, but has played extremely well so far this year as she moves into the final four of the Aegon Classic. She was helped out by 27 unforced errors from Stephens.

 A tough test awaits Zhang, as she will meet top-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals. Ivanovic cruised past the Czech Republic’s Klara Koukalova 6-1, 6-4 on Friday for her third consecutive straight set win in this tournament.

Ivanovic was never really in trouble in this match, as she captured the first set following a break point which jolted her to four straight game victories. While Koukalova showed some life in the second set, but Ivanovic would not let it slip away, reeling off three straight games to seal the match.

“I really tried to do my thing because I know she can be dangerous and last time we played, in Doha, I lost,” said Ivanovic. “She’s won on grass in the past and great competitor as she showed in her matches this week. I’m serving well, which I’m happy about. Each match is a new challenge and I’m happy to improve with each one.”

In another quarterfinal match on Friday, Australia’s Casey Dellacqua easily handled Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-1, 6-0. Dellacqua will play the winner of fourth-seeded German Kirsten Flipkens and Czech Republic’s Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, who were set to meet later Friday.