Kerber Makes First Semi in Victoria

Angelique Kerber upset the odds to beat Victoria Azarenka for the first time in her career and reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

Kerber had lost all of her last six meetings with Azarenka but the seventh seed turned the tide to win a pulsating match 6-3, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena. The world No6 will now play Britain’s Johanna Konta in the last four.

Kerber had never before gone past the fourth round in Melbourne but a stirring display against Azarenka, who many had tipped to win the title, now puts her one victory away from the final.

“I can’t actually describe it in words,” Kerber said. “I was 0-6 [against Azarenka] before I came on court and I was just saying to myself, ‘just play like you play in practice, just go for it and believe you can beat her’. I’m so happy I beat her for the first time.”

The German raced into a 4-0 lead in the first set and while Azarenka brought it back to 4-3, she regained her composure to serve out when the Belarusian hit a backhand long.

The match was quickly flipped on its head in the second, however, when Azarenka stormed 5-2 clear but Kerber came back, saving five set points on her way to levelling at 5-5.

The contest had looked destined for a decider but Kerber now had the momentum and she won the next two games in a row to seal victory in one hour and 45 minutes.

“I was more aggressive than when it was 2-5,” Kerber said. “I was just saying to myself: ‘Forget the score, go for it and play the best you can play today’. I was not thinking about the score.

“At match point I had a little bit more in my mind but it’s just an amazing feeling to be in the semi-finals.”

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Kerber Ends Wozniacki Run

Angelique Kerber spoiled Caroline Wozniacki's perfect record at the e-Boks Open on Sunday afternoon, beating the World No.6 in straight sets in the final of the International-level tournament, 64 64.

The No.2-seeded Kerber barely made it through her first few matches of the week, rallying from a set down to win her first and second rounds then coming back from 5-2 down in the third set, and saving two match points along the way, to edge No.6-seeded countrywoman Mona Barthel in the quarterfinals.

But after a 62 61 semifinal win over No.3 seed Jelena Jankovic, Kerber went into the final with strong momentum, and though she fell behind in both sets to the No.1-seeded Wozniacki, 4-3 in the first set and 4-1 in the second set, she lifted her game every time, including a five game streak to close it out.

"It was amazing to play in front of this crowd, even though most of them supported Caroline," Kerber said. "It was a great atmosphere and it was good fun to play. And I felt like I had nothing to lose. If I lost the match, it's okay against her. It made me take more chances and I'm glad it worked out."

Kerber not only won her second WTA title, after her Premier triumph at Paris [Indoors] in February, but she is also the first player to save match point en route to a WTA title since Chanelle Scheepers last September in Guangzhou. She has also won four of her last five matches against Top 10 players.

"It has been a fantastic week for me here," Kerber said. "I love playing here and today I played a really good match against Caroline. I'm happy I was able to raise my level for the last few matches here and I've gained a lot of confidence.

"I'm very motivated to continue working hard. This just adds to it."

Kerber had never beaten a Top 10 player before February, but since then she has had wins over Maria Sharapova and Marion Bartoli in Paris, Li Na in Indian Wells and now Wozniacki in Copenhagen (her only loss came to the World No.1, Victoria Azarenka, in the semifinals of Indian Wells).

Wozniacki had been 14-0 at the e-Boks Open going into the final, winning the title in its first two years in 2010 and 2011. The Dane, who has spent 67 weeks at No.1, still has a sparkling 18-11 career record in WTA finals.

"You always want to win - yes it's disappointing to lose, but it's not a disaster," Wozniacki said. "You lose matches sometimes, and today was one of those times. There's a new match and new tournament coming, so you go on."

The doubles final saw No.3 seeds Kimiko Date-Krumm and Rika Fujiwara defeat unseeded pair Sofia Arvidsson and Kaia Kanepi, 62 46 105. The 41-year-old Date-Krumm won her third WTA doubles title, while it was a bigger occasion for the 30-year-old Fujiwara - it was her first WTA title of any kind.

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Wozniacki Reaches eBok Final

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2 Saturday to set up an e-Boks final against Angelique Kerber of Germany.

Wozniacki is looking for her third straight title in her home tournament and broke the Croatian's serve twice in each set to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 8 minutes.

She lost her serve once in the first set, but didn't face a break point the rest of the way.

"We played tennis on a high level today. Petra played a good match, she served well and put pressure (on me) the whole time," Wozniacki said. "She slices a lot, so there's no way out. She doesn't want to play long duels, so I had to put pressure on her."

Kerber beat third-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-1 in the other semifinal, breaking the former top-ranked Serb five times while never dropping serve.