Wozniacki Battles Into Semis While Madison Keys Cruises Past Lauren Davis

A day after knocking out American Sloane Stephens, Caroline Wozniacki had to battle back from a set down to defeat Italian Camila Giorgi 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 at the Aegon International on Thursday.

Wozniacki, who won this event in 2009, dropped the opening set after a long tie-breaker went the Italian’s way in her bid to dethrone another top player.

The Dane then trailed 4-3 in the second set as Giorgi was serving as it appeared she was in control of the match. After a short delay because a fan needed to be carried off on a stretcher, Wozniacki broke serve and reeled off three straight games to capture the second set and even the match up.

In the third set, Wozniacki had to battle again, pulling out two break points to lead 2-1. A double-fault by Giorgi gave Wozniacki a chance to serve out the match, and she smashed a forehand winner to advance into the semifinals.

She moves on and will meet fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber for a spot in the finals. Kerber beat 2010 champion Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-2, 6-1, avenging a second-round defeat to her in last year’s tournament.

After battling through four-break points to hold serve at 1-1 in the first set, Kerber grabbed control of the match. After taking the first set 6-1, she converted four break points in the opening game of the second set and served out the rest of the set to capture the match 6-2, 6-1.

“It was not as easy as the score said, because there were tough rallies,” said Kerber. “She’s a great player on grass, so I was just focusing on me, trying to be aggressive and take my chances. I did a good job.”

The other semifinal match will feature American Madison Keys and England’s Heather Watson.

Watson did not even have to step on the court to win her quarterfinal match over 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who had to retire due to a hamstring injury.

Keys took on fellow American Lauren Davis, who had defeated her in the Sony Open back in March. Keys would get her revenge this time around, disposing of her compatriot 6-2, 6-1 in a little over an hour.

The key to her victory was a powerful serve which helped her smash six aces and convert 80 percent of her first service points.