Tennis Eastbourne International: Petra Kvitova sets up clash with Jelena Ostapenko in final

No. 14 seed Petra Kvitova ended the 12-match winning streak of Beatriz Haddad Maia to advance to Eastbourne International final for the second time in her career. She also made it to the final at the tournament in 2011, where she lost to Marion Bartoli.

The first set reached a tiebreak as neither player faced any breaks throughout the opener. Petra Kvitová fired a decisive forehand winner to convert her second set point after more than an hour-long first set. The left-handed Czechian broke the serve of Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second set and won 75% of the points to win the second set 6-4.

Former Wolrd No. 2 Petra Kvitová suffered from the poor form before Eastbourne International. In contrast, her Brazilian opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia was at the top of her form on the grass court, winning two consecutive titles at Nottingham and Birmingham. 

Beatriz Haddad Maia had previously Petra Kvitová in the first round of the Birmingham Open last week. Petra Kvitová fired 27 winners compared to 12 by her Brazlillian opponent to take revenge for last week's record after almost two hours of play. The victory improved her win-loss record for the season to 14-13.

Petra Kvitová has a record of 4-1 in grass-court finals, with her only loss coming in the 2011 Eastbourne International final.

In a post-match interview, Petra Kvitová said, "It was a tough one. That is what I expected. It was about the service; that was a key to the tiebreak in the first set and the early break in the second, just one break in the match, so it was a grass game today.

Petra Kvitová will face defending champion Jeļena Ostapenko in the Eastbourne International women's singles final on June 25 to win the 29th singles title of her career.

Jelena Ostapenko storms past Camila Giorgi

Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated No. 12 seed Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2 in a semifinal clash at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club to claim her ninth straight win at the Eastbourne International.

Defending champion Jeļena Ostapenko aims to win the sixth WTA singles title of her career. She won the trophy at the Dubai Open this year and continued with her excellent form to defeat Camila Giorgi in just one hour and eight minutes.

Jeļena Ostapenko fired 22 winners compared to 11 by Camila Giorgi and was not broken even once during the match. The victory improved her win-loss record against Camila Giorgi to 2-1.