Ailing Radwanska toughs out win
Date published :
06 Aug 2011 - 01:00:04
Agnieszka Radwanska will try to shrug off a sore right shoulder in her WTA San Diego semi-final against Andrea Petkovic after reaching the final four with a fighting victory on Friday.
Third seed Radwanska played for more than two hours to defeat Slovakian eighth seed Daniela Hantuchova 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 while second-seeded Petkovic motored past US teenager Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes with minimal fuss.
Radwanska admitted she entertained the idea of packing in the match after dropping the first set without winning a game, but pride steeled her to play on.
"You're playing Daniela, who is a great player. I could lose the match, but not 6-0, 6-0. I've been playing too well to lose so quickly," she said. "That pushed me to keep fighting."
Radwanska has been bothered by a nerve problem in her shoulder which has reduced her serve to the bare minimum. She was broken six times but still managed the win.
"Playing two hours is not really helpful for my shoulder, but I'll try my best tomorrow," said the Pole, who has now beaten Hantuchova in five of seven matches. "I didn't have much service, but I was just fighting till the end."
Petkovic. who has gone from strength to strength here as she launches her build-up to the US Open, schooled the 131st-ranked teenager with four breaks of serve as the youngster played in her first elite-level quarter-final.
The German is on track for a breakthrough into the WTA Top 10 for the first time.
By reaching the semi-finals, 23-year-old Petkovic is projected to become become the first from her nation to rise to the Top 10 since Anke Huber in October, 2000.
The second semi-final was to be determined later Friday, when top seed Vera Zvonareva played German Sabine Lisicki and China's fourth seed Peng Shuai faced number five Ana Ivanovic.
