Damien Kayat previews Maria Sakkari vs Sofia Kenin and Barbora Krejcikova vs Danielle Collins in the semi-final matches of the San Diego Open on the 16th of September 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 500
San Diego Open
Barnes Tennis Centre, San Diego, USA (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Semi-finals Preview – 16th September
Maria Sakkari 11/10 | Sofia Kenin 7/10
My Emma Navarro gamble paid off in absolutely spectacular fashion, as the American won a schizophrenic quarterfinal with Maria Sakkari in three sets.
Navarro went toe-to-toe with the Greek in the first set, frustrating her more illustrious opponent into a slew of errors. But the tide changed in the 2nd, with Sakkari turning on the class to bagel the seemingly helpless American.
But Navarro was not to be outdone, reaching her 2nd tour-level semi-final with a gutsy 3rd set tiebreak victory. She handled the raw power of Sakkari expertly and cannot be dismissed too easily. But next up she faces a different challenge in the high IQ skillset of Sofia Kenin.
I had a feeling this was going to be Sofia Kenin’s week to show what she is really made of. The former World No.4 and Major champion has had to battle through major injury issues and form swings in the post-Covid environment.
But the pugnacious American has survived a pretty difficult draw to reach just her 2nd semi-final of the season (after Hobart). She beat Veronika Kudermetova in her first match to record her 20th victory against a top 20 player in her career.
She then saw off a spirited Volynets before easily overcoming Ons Jabeur’s conqueror Anastasia Potapova. She was scintillating against the Russian, using that amazingly versatile backhand to wonderful effect.
She was hitting clean backhand winners down the line and crosscourt whilst also mixing things up with that delicious sliced backhand option. Kenin is an extremely dangerous opponent when that particular shot is working.
Verdict: Kenin to win in straight-sets – 31/20
This will be the first career meeting between these two compatriots. Navarro isn’t purely going to frustrate the life out of Kenin.
Kenin is more cunning than Sakkari and will not be simply lulled into a slugfest. Kenin was sensational against Potapova and I expect her to easily overcome surprise package Navarro.
Barbora Krejcikova 21/20 | Danielle Collins 15/20
2021 French Open champ and former World No.2 Barbora Krejcikova hasn’t had a remarkable year- her victory over Haddad Maia took it to a respectable 27-16. I think it’s fair to say that the 27-year-old Czech has spread herself a bit thin over the last year or so.
That was always bound to happen when you are one of the premier double’s players in the world. So, I always take her dips in form with a pinch of salt. But she still had some really notable results in the early part of the season. She reached the 4th round at the Aussie Open before beating Swiatek in the final in Dubai.
But the truth is this: this is the first event where the Czech has won back-to-back matches since she reached the Birmingham final. She came into this off the back of four successive losses and it’s refreshing to see her playing such commanding tennis.
She needs to become a bit more authoritative on her own serve if she wants to rediscover the form that made her a Grand Slam champion. But she is returning brilliantly and will be a tough nut to crack.
Rambunctious American Danielle Collins has never been everybody’s cup of tea. But her recent foul-mouthed tirade against Maria Sakkari in Montreal- and the subsequent social media fallout- made her nobody’s cup of tea.
With Sakkari eliminated from the draw, there will be no fateful rematch of that Montreal fiasco. The rowdy American seems to thrive on adversity and she seems to be finding a semblance of form in North American conditions.
2022 Aussie Open finalist’s comprehensive quarterfinal win over Caroline Garcia took her 2023 record to a pretty humdrum 20-16. But this is the first time since Austin that the American has reached the final four of an event.
She reached the final eight of the aforementioned Canadian Open to avoid dropping out of the world’s top 50. And she has looked mightily impressive on these fast surfaces, seeing off US Open quarterfinalist Ostapenko in an epic match before a more comprehensive showing against Garcia.
Verdict: Krejcikova to win in three-sets – 7/2
I was pretty amazed to learn that this will be their first career meeting. Krejcikova hasn’t been in great form of late and Danielle Collins has the capacity to beat anyone on the world on these surfaces.
But I think the Czech’s consistency of stroke will force Collins into errors. Also, the Czech’s brilliant returning game is going to put constant pressure on the Collins delivery. I expect plenty of breaks and I ultimately think the Czech will prevail.
