Venus crashes out of Pan Pacific Open, Kvitova, Kerber advance to finals

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Venus crashes out of Pan Pacific Open, Kvitova, Kerber advance to finals

(Xinhua) 11:24, September 28, 2013

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Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams crashed out of the Pan Pacific Open to seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova in three sets at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park in Tokyo on Friday.

Williams eased through the first set, but was over-powered by the Czech player 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) who is chasing her second title this year having left with the silverware at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.

Williams was looking to chalk up her second title since winning in Luxembourg last October, but a string of double-faults against Kvitova -- the former world number one -- did her no favors and the Czech took command of the final tie-break going ahead 6-0 and finally converting the third match point to secure her berth into the finals.

The 33-year-old American, who has been blighted by an auto-immune disease for the past two years and now ranks sixty-third in the world, topped the WTA rankings in 2002, but has failed to break into the top 10 since she was ranked ninth in March 2011.

"I was definitely a little tired, but she must have been as well as she played two matches yesterday. I don't think that affected the outcome," Williams told reporters after the match.

Kvitova paid tribute to her opponent saying it was a hard-fought match, with its ups and downs.

"I was happy with my performance today and think I played well. But it was a very close match with each game up and down," she said.

Kvitova will now go on to play German Angelique Kerber who overcame Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the other semifinal in Tokyo.

Kerber is currently ranked No. 9 in the world and is the highest-ranking German in the WTA rankings.

Kerber was a semifinalist in the 2011 U.S. Open and in the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. In the 2012 French Open she reached the quarterfinals.

（Editor：YanMeng、Liang Jun）