Top seed Halep falls in thriller
Aegon Classic top seed Simona Halep was bundled out of the tournament by France's Kristina Mladenovic, the world no.43, today
Mladenovic initially seemed unable to hit through the Romanian world No.3, but following an on-court coaching session from her brother Luka - whose birthday was today - the 22-year-old former junior No.1 began asserting herself both from the baseline and at net. Under the onslaught, Halep's serve deserted her - she committed five double faults en route to losing a second set bagel. Although Halep dug deep to drag the third set into a tie-break from 3-5 down, Mladenovic's power paid off with a 2-6, 6-0, 7-6(4) victory - a nice present for Luka.
She also survived a penchant for the dropshot that seemed foolish at times - and genius at others. "It's definitely one of my favourite shots!" she grinned afterwards. "But I try not to do it too much - sometimes it's not so smart."
Coach-free Mladenovic flying high
In retrospect, there were signs pointing to the upset: Mladenovic had won her only previous encounter with Halep 7-6(1), 6-4, on the quick carpet courts of the 2014 Paris Indoors event, and is in the form of her life.
This coincides with Mladenovic's split from her coach Nemanja Kontic in February, and her unusual decision to go solo thereafter. At Roland Garros, following her first round upset of Eugenie Bouchard, Mladenovic stated: "It's been two periods in my career so far when I've realised that without any coaches it's okay, it's really good. I have decided to take a break again and focus on myself. I think I know myself quite well, even though I'm young." (Luka, a footballer for FC Metz, is an ad hoc designated coach here in Birmingham; Kristina has jokingly referred to him as her "grass specialist" on Twitter.)
Pliskova continues clinical form
In the semi-finals, Mladenovic will take on another big-serving six-foot blonde: Czech No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova, whose 6-2, 6-2 win over Spain's No.3 seed Carla Suárez Navarro was a clinical demolition job.
The pair are two of this year's most improved WTA players: Suárez Navarro has taken the step from perennial top 20 player into the top 10 with results such as reaching the Miami Open final in March, while Pliskova has transformed herself from an intermittently dangerous floater into a consistent competitor with genuine grit, and consequently risen to world No.12. Appropriately, all four of their meetings had taken place in the past 12 months, with Pliskova emerging victorious only once, in Sydney in January.
But the advantages that grass conferred on the big-serving 23-year-old were immediately apparent today as she rushed to a double break lead. Subsequently, a minor disagreement with umpire Zhang Juan on match point was Pliskova's most significant obstacle to a semi-final berth.
Germany dominates bottom half
No.4 seed Angelique Kerber and No.8 seed Sabine Lisicki set up an all-German semi-final in the bottom half of the draw with straight-set wins over Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, and Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia, respectively.
Kerber's 6-2, 6-4 scoreline over her 19-year-old opponent belies both the tightness of the match, in which 11 of 18 games went to deuce, and its highly entertaining quality. Initially, it appeared that the Czech, for all her talent, would be no match for the solidity of her more experienced opponent. Siniakova was gesturing angrily and muttering disconsolately before the first game was out, and swiftly fell behind 0-4.
To be fair to the teenager, Kerber's defensive abilities - and the winners she hits from seemingly impossible positions, such as a brilliant half volley in the second set - would frustrate almost anyone. And while Siniakova may wear her heart on her sleeve - and on her many distressed facial expressions - this belies the grit with which she competes. Siniakova displayed flair and creativity until the end as she tried in vain to find a solution to Kerber - but it was the German who had the knack of playing her best on the big points.
By contrast, Lisicki's 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Hantuchova was a rather more rhythmless encounter, as both powerful hitters veered between smoothly struck winners and wild errors without any pattern. Nonetheless, Lisicki's cause was aided by adding a further 10 aces to her tournament total, which now numbers an impressive 35 over three matches, and her run to the semi-finals now includes wins over two of the very same players she beat en route to winning the Aegon Classic in 2011.
Afterwards, Lisicki attributed her erratic performance to a poor night's sleep, thanks to some inconsiderate fellow hotel guests. "My neighbours, they felt like going in and out and slamming the door throughout the night," she laughed. "I hope they are not there tonight!"
Nonetheless, she was positive about what lay ahead. "I always play well in England," said the 2013 Wimbledon runner-up. "I wouldn't mind another title on grass!" To get there, though, Lisicki faces an uphill battle: she has a 0-5 career head-to-head against Kerber, although they haven't played each other in nearly three years. That encounter was an epic psychodrama of a Wimbledon quarter-final that is surely etched in all who witnessed it, which Kerber won 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-5. If their semi-final here is anything similar, Saturday's spectators are in for a treat.
Doubles damp squibs
Disarray hit the doubles competition, with only one match out of three scheduled even starting. Reunited Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka took out the No.3 seeds, Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears, 3-6, 6-3, [10-8]. However, injuries sustained in their singles matches caused Simona Halep (right arm strain) and Kristina Mladenovic (low back injury) to withdraw from their respective matches.
The doubles semi-finals will thus pit the Taiwanese-Chinese pair of Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie against the Spanish duo, Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro; while Hlavackova and Hradecka will take on the Dutch-Czech pairing of Michaella Krajicek and Barbora Strycova.
