Nadia Petrova, arguably the hottest player on the 2006 WTA Tour, made an outstanding comeback to reach her sixth semi-final of the year at the German Open on Friday.
The second-seeded Russian was a set and 0-3 down in the second set against compatriot Dinara Safina before recovering to win a long drawn out and tiring two-hour 18-minute encounter 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. It was Petrova's 31st victory of the season and her 13th successive win on clay, although it looked very much in doubt for at least an hour, during which she looked jaded and below par.
She was also frequently forced to contain and defend by Safina, who sensed an opportunity to beat her older and more experienced fellow Muscovite, and struck the ball flat and hard and worked her from side to side.
A turning point came in the fifth game of the second set at 15-30 on Safina's serve, when she got a chance to attack a desperate defensive lob from Petrova, and stepped in and took it ambitiously early only to drill a forehand wide.
That gave Petrova a break point which she took with a steadily played rally, and from then on her appetite for the fight noticeably increased.
Petrova nearly broke again immediately, reducing Safina to 15-40 in her next service game, but the big breakthrough came at 4-4 when Petrova came up with a fiercely struck backhand return winner to punish an indifferent second serve on break point.
By then Safina was beginning to shake her head at her inability to convert chances and half way through the third set she was hurling her racket impetuously in the air.
Her frustration never got her into trouble, however, and she caught the descending implement deftly.
Petrova accelerated her already increasing psychological advantage when she broke for 3-2 in the final set with a wonderfully disguised fade forehand drive which caught the sideline, and celebrated by running ostentatiously to her chair.
Safina fought to the end but never looked like retrieving the deficit.
Finally she dropped serve again at 3-5, twice over-hitting on the forehand side which Petrova had been trying to pressurise.
FRIDAY'S RESULTS (x denotes seeding):
QUARTER-FINALS: Nadia Petrova (RUS x 2) bt Dinara Safina (RUS x10) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Li Na (CHN) bt Patty Schnyder (SUI x4) 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/1).
THURSDAY'S COLLATED RESULTS:
THIRD ROUND: Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Elena Dementieva (RUS x5) 6-3, 6-2; Li Na (CHN) bt Catalina Castano (COL) 6-1, 6-0 Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL x3) bt Maria Kirilenko (RUS x15) 6-1, 6-0; Dinara Safina (RUS x10) bt Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x8) 6-3, 6-2; Patty Schnyder (SUI x4) bt Anna Smashnova (ISR) 6-3, 6-3; Nadia Petrova (RUS x2) bt Zheng Jie (CHI) 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4; Amelie Mauresmo (FRA x1) bt Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 6-4, 6-2; Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x6) bt Sybille Bammer (AUT) 6-2, 6-4.
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