By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 27, 2018
CoCo Vandeweghe continues to play first-rate tennis against top-ranked opponents.
Vandeweghe crushed world No. 1 Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-1, storming into the first clay-court semifinal of her career in Stuttgart.
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The two-time Stuttgart semifinalist felt suffocated by Vandeweghe's all-court aggression.
"She served really well and it was tough to break her," Halep told the media in Stuttgart. "I couldn’t feel the rhythm, the timing. Everything went fast, like a flash. I still feel the leg. I couldn’t move like I do. Couldn’t play my best here, but she was strong today. No excuses. She played better."
The 2017 US Open semifinalist has now won her last three matches against world No. 1 players, including victories over Angelique Kerber at the 2017 Australian Open and Karolina Pliskova en route to the Flushing Meadows final four last summer.
Though Vandeweghe has been vocal about her complete disdain for dirt that hasn't stopped her from tearing through the Stuttgart field.
The 16th-ranked American stomped Fed Cup teammate Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 6-0 in her opener before dethroning defending champion Laura Siegemund 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 yesterday.
Playing one of the speediest players in the sport, Vandeweghe deployed her all-court skills frequently punctuating points at net and sometimes drawing the top seed forward.
The 26-year-old Vandeweghe hit 19 winners in a 74 minute rout avenging a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing to Halep in her lone prior clay-court quarterfinal at Madrid last May.
Vandeweghe will face Caroline Garcia for a spot in Sunday's final.
The sixth-seeded Frenchwoman fired 10 aces outlasting third-seeded Elina Svitolina, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first semifinal of the season. It is Garcia's third straight win over the fourth-ranked Ukrainian.
Garcia and Vandweghe have split two prior meetings—both on hard court in Wuhan—ahead of their first clay-court clash.
Karolina Pliskova pumped 14 aces rallying for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jelena Ostapenko. Pliskova withstood 50 winners from the reigning Roland Garros champion.
The fifth-seeded Czech will take on Anett Kontaveit in a match of first-time Stuttgart semifinalists tomorrow.
In a clash of unseeded quarterfinalists, Kontaveit edged Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-4, in a gripping two hour, 55-minute test.
"It was so close the whole match and I'm really happy to be in the semifinals for the first time here," said Kontaveit, who arrived in Stuttgart on a four-match losing streak. "I'm trying to go for it, whatever the score it, and just keep fighting. The end of last season and start of this season after the Australian Open has not been easy, and I'm so happy to be playing well again and getting some wins under my belt."