W&S Open: Osaka surives; Konta, Mertens roll through

The WTA’s W&S Open quaarterfinals were in action today. Top-seed Naomi Osaka battled to a two set victory; both Konta and Mertens won convincingly.

Day 5 of the WTA’s Western & Soutern Open saw four players book their spots in the semifinals. Only five seeded players remain heading into the quarters and only two of them are seeded i nthe top ten (Naomi Osaka and Johanna Konta). Here is a match-by-match breakdown of each quarterfinal bout.

(14) Elise Mertens def. Jessica Peluga 6-1, 6-3

It’s unfortunate that Mertens and Pegula had to face off against each other so soon; both showed the potential to be an upset pick for the title. Mertens was ultimately the better player and clearly showed it today. She took the first set in an astounding 22 minutes and finished with a 24-9 point advantage. She also took 16 of the final 19 points after Pegula held for her only game of the match at 2-1. Taking all nine of her first serve points and 3 of 5 on her second serve, Mertens was on roll and didn’t show any signs of stopping.

Pegula finally got competitive and took both of the first two games to deuce before losing them both. She was, however, able to crack Mertens’ serve for the first time as she got to love-40 before converting on her third break chance. One quick hold later and the match was all square at 2-all.

Both ladies’ serves were starting to kick into high gear. In the four games following Pegula’s break of serve, both she and Mertens combined for only three points off of the return (two for Pegula). Mertens’ edge and consistent play had been a key for the entire match and it finally showed at 4-3. She broke Pegula for the second time in the game and ended the match by converting her second match point.

Pegula played a fine match but struggled to turn her second serves into points, especially in the second set. She won only 40% of points on her second serve and struggled to win 29% of points in the second.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 26: Naomi Osaka of Japan returns a shot against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during the Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 26, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

(4) Naomi Osaka def. (12) Anett Kontaveit 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

Naomi Osaka struggled in her opening match on Monday but was able to bounce back with an easy win over Dayana Yastremska. Kontaveit hasn’t faced a seeded player prior to today but, as we’ve now seen, the number in front of the player doesn’t matter.

The pair engaged in a very short first set despite the 6-4 final score. In 34 minutes, only one game went to deuce and nine of the ten were won by the server. Kontaveit needed only one break of serve at 2-all to get the advantage over Osaka. The 4th seed struggled immensely trying to win points on Kontaveit’s serve, winning a total of 4 points in 5 games. Even though her serve was still on point (apart from the one game she was broken), her inability to get through Kontaveit’s serve was the key to her losing the first set.

After Kontaveit took the first two games of the second set, Osaka rebounded and was able to take the next six games in a staggering display of offense and efficiency on serve. She won 21 of the last 31 points over those six games, saving a break point at love-2 and converting 3-of-5 of her own. She finally was able to power past Kontaveit’s big serve and took 9 of the 13 points off her first serve.

Osaka’s ability to close has been much better than her getting out to a fast start. She was able to jump out to a 4-1 lead, losing only three points on her serve in the process. Kontaveit was able to battle back and evened the match at 4-all. At 4-3, Osaka had a shot to break for 5-3, which would’ve put the match away for good but wasn’t able to convert.

The pair held and Kontaveit needed a hold to force a third-set tiebreak. She squandered two games points, allowing Osaka to finally put the match away on her second match point. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins for Osaka but she’ll still likely be a favorite moving forward and will face Mertens in the semis.

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Victoria Azarenka def. Ons Jabeur 7-6 (9), 6-2

Both Jabeur and Azarenka have been surprise quarterfinalists, especially in the case of Azarenka. Both have been playing exceptionally well were due for a great battle. The first set was a back and forth battle that lasted longer than the entirety of the Mertens-Peluga match (1:05 for the Mertens match, 1:12 for this first set).

Jabeur opened up a 2-love lead but was brought to 2-all after being broken in the fourth game of the match. After two quick holds, the pair each broke each other twice in succession. At 5-4(the last break of serve), Jabeur held two set points but lost the next four points, which gave Azarenka her second consecutive break.

In the tiebreak, Azarenka had a 6-3 lead but squandered all three of her chances and walked into the changeover with little t be positive about. Jabeur continued her streak and forced two set points at 7-6 and 8-7, none of which she won. Azarenka was finally able to finish off the set at 10-9.

The second set was Vintage Vika. Her groundstrokes were clean and effective. She was pushing Jabeur around the court from beginning to end. The former World #1 needed three break points to open the set but eventually broke Jabeur to open. Three holds later, Azarenka repeated the same feat, this time needing only two break chances to take a 5-1 double break lead. Azarenka put the match away on her serve and booked a spot in her first semifinals appearance since the 2019 Abierto GNP Seguros, where she reached the final.

Jabeur, when hot, is one of the most dangerous players in the WTA. That’s not an exaggeration, either. The problem is that Jabeur simply wasn’t on it today, which makes it incredibly difficult to play. The combination of freedom and power is lethal when it works; when it doesn’t, a loss is likely to occur.

Azarenka will look to win her first title since 2016 and will face 8th-seeded Johanna Konta in the semifinals.

(8) Johanna Konta def. (13) Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-3

Maria Sakkari needed just a shade under three hours to take down Serena Williams yesterday. It’s extremely difficult to follow up a performance of that caliber with another win, especially against one of the strongest players left in the field.

Sakkari saved three break points on her way to hold in the opening game, which was both a positive and a negative. her winning the game still showed she had gas left in the tank but her going down so quickly would suggest otherwise. After a hold, Konta pusheed past for a break of serve at 1-all. Seven straight holds followed (only one of which going into deuce) before Konta was able to hold at love for the first set. Konta was a combined 20-for-24 points won on her serve and didn’t face a break point for the entirety of the set.

The second set began with a gargantuan five deuce game that saw Konta capitalize with three break point chances. Her prowess on serve was evident as the match wore on; Sakkari was having trouble getting anywhere close to break chance on the return. She was, however, able to find two opportunities at 2-1 (both of which she lost). She herself was able to save three break points in her next two holds but it was little too late. At 5-3, the finishing blow was dealt by the fiery Konta as she converted her second and final break point of the set, securing her spot in the semifinals in the process.

Given Sakkari’s marathon evening yesterday, it wasn’t too hard to tell that she wouldn’t be 100% coming into today. Regardless, she’s taken out some top-tier talent along the way to her final QF placement.

Konta has a favorable matchup against Victoria Azarenka tomorrow; the #8 seed willl likely have the advantage despite the Belarusian putting together a convincing straight sets win over Ons Jabeur today.

Day 6 Full Schedule (Semifinals)

(4) Naomi Osaka vs (14) Elise Mertens

(8) Johanna Konta vs Victoria Azarenka

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