By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, April 2, 2015
Carla Suarez Navarro swept Andrea Petkovic to advance to the Miami Open final for the first time and ensure she will crack the world's Top 10 for the first time when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday.
Photo credit: @MiamiOpen
The purple Crandon Park court bore black-and-blue overtones today.
Clad in black, Carla Suarez Navarro deconstructed Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-3, befuddling the German into beating up on herself in a breakthrough victory. Suarez Navarro roared into her first Miami Open final and ensured she will crack the world's Top 10 for the first time when the new WTA rankings are released on Monday.
"I feel so happy. It's so important for me," Suarez Navarro said. "I was practicing and I was working during all this year with my team to a moment like this."
Suarez Navarro is the first Spanish woman to reach the Miami final since Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario won the second of her two titles in 1993.
It is the eighth career final for Suarez Navarro, while face either seven-time Miami champion Serena Williams or world No. 3 Simona Halep in the title match. Williams has won all eight sets vs. Suarez Navarro; Halep has won five of nine meetings with the 12th-seeded Spaniard.
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Petkovic and Suarez Navarro were scheduled to meet in the final at Antwerp in February, however Suarez Navarro could not take to the court due to a neck injury.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of today's match is with so much at stake —a first trip to a Premier-level final, a chance to break into the Top 10 and the opportunity to take down another Top 10 opponent—Suarez Navarro kept calm.
Suarez Navarro served 69 percent, did not face a break point and controlled the center of the court mixing her heavy topspin forehand with her flashy and versatile one-handed backhand.
"It's really nice to see that she has so much variety in her game and the one-handed backhand," said Petkovic. "The difference between the one-handed backhand, playing a one-hand backhand and a two-handed backhand is it goes off the court much more. It makes you move that one step further. Then when you have a double-handed backhand and you don't get it on the rise, you're immediately on the back foot. Then she can step in and open the court to the other side."
The fiery Petkovic grew so frustrated she was reduced to banging her racquet off her feet and punching her seat to release the angst.
"I think Carla just plays really well this season and really upped her game in the last year. It's really nice to see," Petkovic said. "But I think today was just all about me. I was just very stressed and I was pretty awful throughout the whole match. I tried to fight myself into the match, but there were just so many unforced errors from my side. You're not going to win a match at that level at that stage of the tournament with so many unforced errors. She's just been playing really great the whole season."
Beneath a high sun, exchanges heated up quickly. Petkovic slid an angled slice pass that Suarez Navarro could not control, ending a 20-plus shot rally. Swiping glistening sweat from her forehead with the back of her wristband, Petkovic pushed through, saving three break points to hold in the opening game.
Escalating pressure — and the bright sun — conspired on the opening break. Petkovic was a few feet from net in prime position for an easy overhead, but she slapped it long to face break point. When a tight Petkovic skipped a forehand off the top of the tape that scattered wide, Suarez Navarro had the break and 2-1 lead.
The 26-year-old Spaniard sometimes banged the body serve to jam the 5-foot-11 German and elicit mid-court returns. Suarez Navarro plays with more spin and used the topspin forehand to create angles and spread the court. Zapping an inside-out forehand winner, she held for 4-2.
Petkovic waved off coach Dirk Dier as he arose to come out on court after his charge held for 3-4. Suarez Navarro answered, holding at 15 for 5-3.
When the ninth seed netted a backhand pass down the line to fall into a double set point hole, she let out the anger, snapping her Wilson racquet off the court in three quick swipes. Petkovic couldn't contain her emotions or her shots, sailing another shot beyond the baseline as Suarez Navarro closed the opener in 42 minutes.
The 5-foot-4 Suarez Navarro permitted just six points on her serve in a tidy set. Petkovic took a bathroom break in an effort to recharge.
Playing some beautifully punishing combinations, Suarez Navarro held to open the second set. When she wasn't beating her opponent to the ball, Petkovic was beating herself up, slamming her racquet against the bottom of her foot in frustration after one error.
When coach Dier came out to calm his charge, Petkovic punched her court-side seat a couple of teams in frustration.
Suarez Navarro shrewdly continued to mix the spins, speeds, height and angle of her shots, befuddling her flatter-hitting opponent and drawing errors from the Pektovic forehand. Successive errors off that wing left an exasperated Petkovic throwing her arms up as Suarez Navarro held for 3-2.
In the next game, Petkovic fought back from triple break point only to put a forehand into net on the fourth break point. Petkovic dropped a spare ball to the court, looking like a woman who knew any shot of comeback had slipped from her grip as Suarez Navarro broke for 4-2.
Serving out one of the most important matches of her career with confidence, Suarez Navarro curled a forehand into the corner and thrust her arms toward the sky after securing her spot in the final — and debut in the Top 10.
It's been an impressive run for Suarez Navarro, who fought back from a set down to beat both seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 16 seed Venus Williams.