Wozniacki and Former Champion Hsieh Into Malaysian Semis
Caroline Wozniacki maintained her excellent play in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, rolling past Carina Witthoeft 6-3, 6-1 to reach the tournament’s semifinals. The top-seeded Dane needed just one hour and 12 minutes, notching two break points in each set and saving two of her own.
“We had a lot of tight games early on, but I managed to play well in the important points, and that made the difference,” said Wozniacki. “I’m happy about the way I played out there today. I think that was my best match so far in the tournament and I hope to just keep improving from there.”
Wozniacki moves into the final four and will face former champion Su-Wei Hsieh. The Chinese Taipei native won her third consecutive three-set match by defeating Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0.
Hsieh won the first 22 points of the third set to build a 5-0 advantage, and closed it out without dropping a game in the final frame.
“Kulichkova is a very good player and one to watch for the future,” said Hsieh. “She hit hard and made me run all over the court chasing the ball, but luckily for me I still had energy left, and by the time we got to the third set, she was hitting quite a few double faults and unforced errors on the court.”
Wozniacki and Hsieh have played three times prior, with the Dane coming out victorious in all three.
“Playing against top players is always tough, so I won’t be thinking about who I’m playing against,” said Hsieh. “I will concentrate on bringing my best game to the court and enjoying the semifinal.”
In the other semifinal, fourth-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova will take on Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru.
Gajdosova took care of Japans Kurumo Nara in a tight-three setter, prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to push through. Dulgheru upset eighth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany 7-6(5), 7-5.
