(8) Li Na def. (14) Dominika Cibulkova 6-1 7-6(4)
Li Na breaks her QF streak and advances to the semi-finals in Rome. She was helped a lot by Cibulkova though. A full day of rest didn't help the Slovak as she committed 16 unforced errors and no winners in the first set. Talk about stinking up the court. :/ Li was comfortably leading 6-1 4-0 when she suddenly realised it was too easy. So wild errors creeped in and Dominika had a glimmer of hope. Li was able to rein it in though as she clinched the tie-break. Li will face the GOAT next round and whatever the result, I'm sure she is happy with her performance this week.
(9) Serena Williams def. Flavia Pennetta 4-0 ret.
Poor Flavia. When will she ever be fully fit? She was seemingly at the form of her life and injury-free for once but faces another set-back. An injured wrist caused the home crowd to be extremely disappointed. I guess Flavia will never beat Serena in her career. As for Serena, I'm sure she's going to take this win and get more rest. It's been a while since Serena played so many matches and she's keeping up the good form which is very pleasant to see. Serena Williams will be the one to watch in Roland Garros
(12) Angelique Kerber def. (4) Petra Kvitova 7-6(2) 1-6 6-1
A new top 10 player has emerged! With this win, Kerber breaks into the top 10 for the first time, displacing the injured Zvonareva. Kvitova was obviously not fully fit today. An abdominal injury caused her to serve cautiously and she's not able to impose her massive game from the start. Let's hope she recovers for Roland Garros. Kerber is the best defensive player right now. Her relentless backboard game weathered the storm and her fighter mentality won her this match. Impressive stuff from the German. I wonder if she can sustain this momentum for the rest of the year. But anyway, she has already collected several top 10 wins for the past few months. Confidence is sky-high for the German, which makes her another contender for Paris.
(2) Maria Sharapova def. (WC) Venus Williams 6-4 6-3
The first set by this 2 marquee players was impressive vintage WTA stuff. Maria only won 1 more point than Venus and clinched the only break point. Venus then wilted away in the 2nd, committing a double fault to give Maria the match. Venus's strategy of hitting to Maria's backhand was not paying off as Maria was in the zone with that stroke today. Maria also defended her sometimes frail serve well, not throwing in the occasional double fault. Venus should be able to qualify for the Olympics with this win and Maria is another step closer to defending her title.
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