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WUHAN, China (AP) — Third-seeded Petra Kvitova swept aside Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the Wuhan Open on Thursday, while Caroline Wozniacki rallied to beat Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Kvitova held serve throughout the match and broke Garcia once in each set to complete the win in 1 hour, 21 minutes.
"It was quite humid and hot today ... but the court feels faster, which is something that probably suits my game a lot," Kvitova said. "And I'm serving well, so that's helpful too."
Kvitova would qualify for WTA finals in Singapore if she wins the title at Wuhan.
But first Kvitova has to get past fast-improving Elina Svitolina in the semifinals after the unseeded Ukrainian upset No. 7 Angelique Kerber 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinals.
"I didn't really expect that I would go in semifinal here, so was just trying to take it match by match," Svitolina said after her first win against Kerber in three matches. "I'm just trying to show my best in this tournament ... because after the U.S. Open I was playing not so good."
Wozniacki was broken twice by the 61st-ranked Bacsinszky, but broke her Swiss opponent four times. She will next face Eugenie Bouchard, who overcame Alize Cornet's fight-back in the second set to win 6-3, 7-5.
The sixth-seeded Bouchard was leading 5-2 in the second set before letting Cornet back in the match, but the Canadian recovered to close out the victory.
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