One hour and 24 minutes needed Maria to book a place in semifinals at China Open. She defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in straight sets: 6-4, 6-0.
After the game, Maria said: "We've always had very difficult matches, and the one in Wuhan was no different. It was very physical with a lot of long rallies, and I had a little bit of a slow start there."
"I definitely wanted to do that differently this time, which I was happy with today. I think I played very aggressively. I controlled most of the points. I didn't allow her to get many balls back. It became a little bit trickier in the second set. I thought she played really great defense. But even if I was down a break, I felt like she was doing most of the running, and I was happy to win the match in two sets."
In semifinals, Maria will play against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. On head to head, Maria leads Ivanovic: 8-4. Their last match was this year in Cincinnati, where Ivanovic won in 3 sets.
About her semifinal opponent, Maria said: "It was a very tough match we had in Cincinnati - I was just a point away from winning the match. It was a tough one to lose. I felt like I was down and out, and then I gave myself a chance to get back into it. I'll be looking to get a better start this time than I did over there."
"She's playing really well. She's been playing really well so far this year, very consistent."
"I always look forward to our matches - I think they're always competitive."
GO MARIA !!!
Oh, i'm looking forward too ))) but much more in your revenge this time, dear Maria...improve more your unmerciful side and don't be satistfied anymore...you shouldn't let her even think to win a game per set. Aren't you starving for the trophy? Four months it's terribly much for you. What are you waiting for? Start to eat trophies now...and the season just began for you with new chances )))
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