Sara Errani defeated good friend and doubles partner Roberta Vinci on Friday to reach the final of the $2,000,000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She will play Petra Kvitova for the title.
On Friday’s match between Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, the two good double friends put their friendship aside and went to battle in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and it was Errani who held her nerve and in the important moments her serve to make the final of the Premier level event.
In a match where the two players combined for 11 breaks in 18 games, it was Errani who managed to hang onto her service games more – five holds to two. The No.5-seeded Italian prevailed, 63 63.
“I just tried to play my game, tried to be as solid as I could,” Errani commented. “It’s tough because we know each other very well and know how each other plays, so I had to do what she didn’t think I would do. It’s very difficult to play against someone who knows what you’re going to do in every shot.”
Errani is now in the second-biggest final of her career, her biggest being the final of the French Open last year. Awaiting her in this final would be either Petra Kvitova or Caroline Wozniacki.
“Both are very good players,” Errani said. “Caroline is a very solid player and is playing very well. Kvitova plays really good, very strong with so much power. Both will be very tough matches.”
The No.6-seeded Kvitova ended up beating the No.8-seeded Wozniacki in the second semi, 63 64.
Although Errani is ranked one spot higher than Kvitova, if history is anything to go by, Kvitova is a strong favorite for the title – she has won all three of their previous meetings in straight sets.
“We’ve played a few times, but she’s a Top 10 player,” Kvitova said. “She has a good forehand with big spin and is quite fast on the backhand. She moves very well, too. She has had great results in the past and played quite well today, and she beat Petrova yesterday too. She’s a very tough opponent.”
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