By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday September 30, 2022
Barbora Krejcikova eased past Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach her first semifinal since January.
Photo Source: TTV
After a year marred by injuries, Barbora Krejcikova appears to finally be reaching top form. The Czech snapped a run of four consecutive losses against the Top-20 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 15th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia to book her spot in the semifinals at the Tallinn Open in Estonia.
The former World No.2 (ranked 27) will face Belinda Bencic, who defeated Donna Vekic 6-4 6-1, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Krejcikova, who was out for months with an elbow injury, has yet to drop a set this week, notching wins over Ajla Tomljanovic, Marta Kostyuk and Haddad Maia.
The Czech withdrew at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome and Strasbourg this spring, due to a right elbow injury, and has needed time to find her best tennis since.
She had gone 7-10 with a third round appearance at Wimbledon and a second-round loss at the US Open since she returned to the tour to make her title defense at Roland-Garros (a first-round loss to Diane Parry).
Krejcikova won 14 of 16 second-serve return points and broke serve three times on seven opportunities in her 83-minute victory over the No.3 seed.
She won the final four games of the opening set and the final three games of the second set.
Elsewhere, top-seeded Anett Kontaveit reached the semis with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ysaline Bonaventure.
Kaia Kanepi and Karolina Muchova are currently battling for the final semifinal spot, with the winner to face Kontaveit on Saturday.