Roberta Vinci has beaten two Top 10 players at a tournament for the first time and is now through to her biggest WTA semifinal - but it doesn't get any easier from here, in more ways than one.
WtaTour.com - Published Feburary 21, 2013 12:00
DUBAI, UAE - Roberta Vinci continued to carve out one of the very best weeks of her career on Thursday, beating Sam Stosur to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Vinci's big serve and big forehand - and her lethal backhand slice - were hitting their targets throughout the match against the No.7-seeded Stosur, as she raced through the first set and fought back from 2-0 down in the second set to reach the semifinals in straights in an hour and 18 minutes, 62 64.
"It was a great match for me, a great performance," Vinci said. "She has a great serve, a great kick serve, and for me it was difficult to return because I have a one-handed backhand. But today I played aggressively on the court when I could and it was a good game for me, just like it was yesterday."
There was one shot Vinci stayed away from. "She has an unbelievable forehand," Vinci said. "I had to play a lot to her backhand, and I tried to change from slice to topspin when I had the time."
Vinci is now through to the biggest WTA semifinal of her career, and her second at the Premier level (Dubai has more than three times the prize money of the other Premier tournament she reached the semifinals of - Eastbourne in 2005). This is also the first time Vinci has beaten two Top 10 players at the same tournament, having defeated Angelique Kerber in the third round on Wednesday.
It doesn't get any easier, though, and not just in an on-paper sense - next up for Vinci is her best friend on the tour, No.5 seed Sara Errani, who rebounded from a second set lapse to beat Nadia Petrova in three sets, 64 06 63. Petrova actually won more points than Errani in the match, 105 to 104.
"The first two games of the second set were so long, the second set was very long even if it was 6-0," Errani said afterwards. "In the third set I just tried to get more aggressive and more concentrated. I tried to show her I wasn't tired. I just tried to recover and be positive and face these things."
Errani and Vinci aren't just best friends on the tour, they are also the No.1 doubles team in the world together - their respect for each other was never more evident after they played each other in the US Open quarterfinals last year, with Errani winning but her totally silent celebration saying it all.
"Normally she's with me on my side of the net and not on the other one, so to see her on the other side is tough because one of us will lose," Errani commented. "She's an amazing person outside the court. Outside the court she will always try to help you when she can. She's like a sister to me. We stay together maybe 300 days a year. Of course we have had a lot of good moments together.
"I will have to think about it as just another tennis match, and not that it's against her. I just have to go on the court and do my best. The good thing is one of us will be in the finals here."
Vinci echoed Errani's sentiment. "It will be different mentally because I know her, she's like a sister for me and we play doubles together all the time," the Italian explained. "It will be tough."
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