By Chris Oddo | Thursday May 10, 2018
Kiki Bertens backed up the biggest win rankings-wise of her career with a takedown of Maria Sharapova to reach the Madrid semifinals.
Photo Source: Denis Doyle/Getty
Maria Sharapova’s run is done at the Mutua Madrid Open. Could the run of Kiki Berten’s just be beginning?
The 26-year-old Dutchwoman rallied from a set down to book her first Premier Mandatory semifinal, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The 2016 Roland Garros semifinalist was fresh off her biggest career win by ranking on Wednesday, when she knocked off World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2, and suffered no letdown against the hard-hitting Sharapova on Thursday.
Bertens hit 21 winners to 18 for Sharapova, and committed three fewer errors than Sharapova over the course of the match. After a brilliant first set, Sharapova had difficulties finding the court, and Bertens steadily dominated the final two sets.
Sharapova attempted to claw back late in the match, rallying from 1-5 down to 3-5 down in the third set, but Bertens steadied her nerve and finished off her victory in two hours and five minutes.
Bertens will climb to a career-high ranking of 18 in the world as a result of her victory, and could go higher if she defeats Caroline Garcia in semifinal action on Friday.Garcia rolled past Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2, 6-3.
Bertens improves to 74-31 lifetime on clay, which compares favorably with her all surface lifetime record of 122-118.
Sharapova drops to 138-31 on clay. By not advancing further in the draw she hurts her chances of being seeded at Roland Garros. She is projected to reach the Top 40 by reaching the quarterfinals, but would have been as high as 31 had she defeated Bertens.