By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, February 10, 2022
Irina-Camelia Begu surprised sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-0—her first win over the Czech in six meetings—to reach the St. Petersburg quarterfinals.
Photo credit: Getty
Futility can frustrate some players and create a foreboding feeling in others.
A littany of loss only fired Irina-Camelia Begu up further today.
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Winless in five prior meetings vs. Petra Kvitova, Begu broke through in a big way bursting through six straight games to stun the sixth-seeded Czech 6-4, 6-0 and charge into the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy quarterfinals.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova had won 10 of the 11 sets she played against Begu, including a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 triumph at the 2018 St. Petersburg.
None of that mattered much to Begu in today's rematch.
The 56th-ranked Romanian converted five of six break points and faced only one break point in a 69-minute victory.
"For sure, it was a really good match; I was pretty solid," Begu said afterward. "My serve, I think, was the key of the match. Serving with the first and second as well, I was pretty aggressive. So yeah, overall it was a really good match."
The win vaults Begu into the quarterfinals against another Czech opponent, Tereza Martincova.
The 42nd-ranked Martincova advanced without striking a shot when her opponent, third-seeded Elena Rybakina, withdrew from the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy due to illness. Martincova beat Begu 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 in their lone prior meeting at the 2019 Tashkent.
"I've played her once, it was a really tough battle," Begu said of Martincova. "And I lost that match, but I know it was a really close one so I had my chances.
"Obviously I will talk to my coach to have a good tactic and prepare as good as we can for this match. For sure it will be a difficult one, but I'm here to fight and we will see tomorrow."
Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich broke three times in each set stopping Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-3. Sasnovich will play either seventh-seeded Jelena Ostapenko or Andrea Petkovic for a spot in the final four.