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By Adrianna Outlaw
© Tony Chang/Chang Photography
(July 30, 2010) Physicality came to court at the Bank of the West Classic. Top-seeded Samantha Stosur and Victoria Azarenka both went the distance to set up a Saturday semifinal at Stanford.
Azarenka fought back from a one-set, 1-3 deficit to defeat defending champion Marion Bartoli, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The fourth-seeded Bartoli had won seven straight matches in Stanford and came out striking crisp, confident combinations. Bartoli frequently found the short angles and out-hit Azarenka for the first set and a half. Azarenka started to stretch Bartoli, whose reach is limited because she hits with two hands off both sides, and wore her down a bit in the third set.
"This was a very tough match today. She started the match really well, hitting hard and making so many winners," Azarenka said. "I was just trying to find my game; be more aggressive and continue to put pressure on her. It was important to change her rhythm because she was really solid from the baseline. Also, it was important to make her move and hit some extra shots while applying pressure."
The eighth-seeded Belarusian faces Stosur for a spot in the final.
French Open finalist Stosur staved off US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
"It was a tough match from the first game right up to the end," Stosur said. "I thought I started to return quite well toward the end of the first set. I wasn’t making too many in the beginning. I think I was still a little flat in the second set and let her get back in it, going up a break in the first game. Throughout that second set, I wasn’t quite tough enough. Down 2-0 in the third, I knew it was time to pick it up and I was able to do that."
Agnieszka Radwanska won eight consecutive games to close a 7-5, 6-0 win over Maria Kirilenko. The No. 3 seed from Poland will play either second-seeded Elena Dementieva or fifth-seeded Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.