Petra Kvitova sets up final against Mihaela Buzarnescu
Petra Kvitova beat Zhang Shuai in straight sets to reach the final of the Prague Open.
The second seed made a sluggish start to the first-set tie-breaker, but she bounced back superbly to win 7-6 (8-6), 6-0 in one hour and 20 minutes.
Kvitova was staring down the barrel in the tie-breaker as she found herself 1-5 down, but she reeled off several winners and eventually claimed the first set in just under an hour.
It was one-way traffic in the second set as the Czech broke Shuai three times.
.@Petra_Kvitova reaches the #PragueOpen final on her tournament debut! ????
Defeats Zhang Shuai 7-6, 6-0! pic.twitter.com/1H9hT0vqxy
— WTA (@WTA) May 4, 2018
The three-time Grand Slam winner, who is looking for her 23rd WTA Tour title, will face Mihaela Buzarnescu in the final after the Romanian defeated Camila Giorgi 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 26 minutes.
It was a scrappy deciding set as both players struggled to hold onto their serve but Buzarnescu, who is yet to win a Tour title, managed to pull off two consecutive breaks of serves in games 10 and 12.
It’s a very happy birthday for Mihaela Buzarnescu, who sets up a #PragueOpen final meeting with @Petra_Kvitova!
Defeats Camilla Giorgi 4-6, 6-3, 7-5! pic.twitter.com/SxMa1iUEnh
— WTA (@WTA) May 4, 2018
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