Kiki Bertens defeats Kvitova, reaches Cincinnati final

I just put on my best walkin’ shoes

I got myself and honey, that’s good news
Gonna try, try to be happy now

Meslissa Manchester, "Be Happy Now"

photo by Daniel Ward

Unseeded? No problem. Kiki Bertens, who has been on fire all season, did a repeat of her Rogers Cup feat today and took out 8th seed Petra Kvitova in the Cincinnati semifinals. The Bertens breakthrough this year has been huge. Not only is she more confident and positive--she's decided to take her well-established clay court acumen to every surface on the tour. This expansion included the Dutchwoman's making the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

The will be Bertens' third final of the 2018 season (she won in Charleston). Bertens credits her turnaround in attitude--she felt very discouraged at the end of 2017--to making a conscious decision to think and feel differently. Just like that. In doing so, the Dutch star tapped into one of the most powerful methods of effecting change, whether you're a tennis star, an artist, an executive, or simply a person surviving on the Earth.

Petra Kvitova (photo by Daniel Ward)

Today, Bertens had some help from her exhausted opponent. The long matches finally caught up with Kvitova, and the sudden change (back to hot) in the weather aggravated her asthma. The good news, Kvitova told us after the match, is that she has made sufficient interventions with
her asthmatic condition so that it isn't as great a problem as it used to be.

The match was fun to watch. Even tired, Kvitova was causing people in the stands to gasp. The Czech's fitness was on display again and again as she ran for balls that looked un-returnable and converted them into winners with a combination of stretch and touch. Her drop shot from the baseline may have been the shot of the match.

Kiki Bertens (photo by Daniel Ward)

But, even after winning the first set, Kvitova ultimately wasn't able to keep up with Bertens, who had

to "play her way into" the match. After being dominated in the opening set, Bertens got tuned in with her serve, which helped her quite a bit. Her stats looked good: She hit 23 winners to 21 unforced errors, and hit 10 aces.

Bertens' 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory sends her into the final against either world number 1 Simona Halep or the unseeded Aryna Sabalenka.