Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep to meet in Australian Open semi-final
- Kerber brushes aside American Maidson Keys 6-1, 6-2
- Halep equally convincing in 6-3, 6-2 win over Karolina Pliskova
Angelique Kerber, the only grand slam champion left in the draw, asserted her credentials before her Australian Open semi-final against the world No 1 Simona Halep with an emphatic, 51-minute blowout of the last American, Madison Keys.
It was an embarrassingly one-sided quarter-final in such an important setting at the start of the season, as the German allowed Keys, a quality opponent, only three games. Kerber could hardly be in better shape for Halep – and glad on Wednesday to avoid the protracted examination she endured against the ridiculously clever Hsieh Su-wei in the fourth round.
“It was a different match completely,” she said. “But I knew this before, actually.” She added: “Madison is a hard-hitter, and she served well. So, from the first point, I was trying to play aggressive. I moved well and got a lot of balls back. This is always my game, and the last few weeks I have tried to improve on it.”
There is every likelihood she will need all her resilience to break down Halep. Although she has 5-4 edge from their previous encounters, Kerber said: “Every match starts from zero. It’s a new tournament. We played so many matches, I know what to expect.”
In the first quarter-final, Halep also appreciated a quick workout in moderate heat after having put her body through extreme conditions in the first week.
Not always the cheeriest of souls, Halep broke into a smile when she described her 6-3, 6-2 win over Karolina Pliskova as, “a great match, the best this tournament. I started slow, then I got used to the rhythm. I got used to everything. I played very well”.
There could hardly have been a greater contrast in physicality with her marathon against the unseeded American Lauren Davis in the third round, a match where the third set lasted twice as long as the whole of this one against the sixth seed.
Even so, the combustible Romanian who struggles with self-belief had doubts early on, worrying that a leg injury might not hold up under quality pressure. “I was not sure how it was going to be, how I would run,” she said. “I knew I would have to run and to move quickly against her. She’s hitting hard, so I had to stay close to the baseline, and also strong.”
When it was suggested she might have to do even more running against the wall that is Kerber, Halep smiled and said, “You think?”
She knows it won’t be easy. In fact she is expecting, “a second marathon”, adding, “But I’m used to that. I know her pretty well. I know she’s a very strong player and she likes it here. But I’ve started to like this tournament, too. After two years in a row losing in the first round, now it’s a better result. I want to go there and give everything I have – like I did the few last matches.”
Halep will not be out sightseeing on her day off, though. “Chilling, doing nothing. I will be in my room watching tennis, a little bit of treatment that I had already. I will have again. So boring.”