Petra Kvitova to face Dominika Cibulkova in Wuhan final

Omnisports

September 30, 2016 8:40 AM

Dominika Cibulkova and Petra Kvitova will contest the WTA Wuhan Open final after coming through contrasting last-four meetings on Friday.

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Tenth seed Cibulkova was the first to advance, coming from behind to see off Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6 6-3 6-4 after more than two and a half hours of gripping action.

It was an even more remarkable effort from the Slovak, given three of her four matches in this Premier event had gone the distance, with rain forcing her to play both her last-16 and quarter-final ties on Thursday.

For 2014 champion Kvitova, however, it was a different story as the Czech looked in unstoppable form, thrashing Simona Halep 6-1 6-2.

KVITOVA SURPRISES HERSELF

Kvitova was utterly dominant from the off against Halep, racing into a 5-0 lead in the first set and then 5-1 in the second.

The Czech's powerful forehand proved a weapon which her opponent was unable to defend, while Kvitova also prospered on serve, winning 79 per cent of her points on first and 63 on second.

"Amazing, I didn't expect this kind of performance," she said in her on-court interview. "Physically I'm still so-so, I'm happy that I'm not falling apart so far."

CIBULKOVA SUMMONS ENERGY RESERVES

Having lost the first set, Cibulkova fought back to claim the second and force a decider. At 4-4 15-30, she produced a series of superb winners before victory was secured in the next game with a break to love.

"It feels great. I'm really tired right now, but the feeling to be in the final is unbelievable, and that's why I love it," Cibulkova said. "It's just a great win for me today.

"I would say that nothing has been easy here. I've had really tough matches from the first round so you don't expect anything easy from this tournament."

THE FINAL FEELINGS

"I love to play big matches on big courts, and finals are why we play tennis of course," said Kvitova, who is seeking her first title of 2016.

"I will do my best tomorrow. It's a long time since I played Dominika, she's improved a lot and it will be a difficult match."

"I'm really looking forward to another final and I want to keep going, keep playing like this," said Cibulkova, who already has four Tour finals - and two victories - under her belt this year.

Omnisports

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