Stat of the Day: Petra Kvitova reaches milestone 20th WTA 1000 semifinal of career in Miami

Petra Kvitova has reached the semifinals of the Miami Open for the first time in her career after a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova at the WTA 1000 event on Thursday.

The Czech had been to the quarterfinals in Miami three times previously but never further, in 2014 (falling to Maria Sharapova), 2019 (falling to Ashleigh Barty) and 2022 (falling to Iga Swiatek).

“Finally—I waited quite long to be in the semis here in Miami, so I’m really happy to be here,” Kvitova said afterwards.

“I know Ekaterina is playing really well, she’s serving like hell and playing very well from the baseline, so I just had to be there, and it was really a challenge when she took the second set.

"I’m happy that I fought through.”

It was a high-quality match from both players, who each had even winners-to-unforced errors differentials. Alexandrova was the more aggressive of the two with 26 and 26 (7 aces to 7 double faults), while Kvitova finished with 19 and 19 (6 aces to 6 double faults).

There was one notable difference: Kvitova converted two of nine break point opportunities, while Alexandrova converted one of six.

And there’s more good news: the two-time Wimbledon champion is now through to the milestone 20th WTA 1000 semifinal of her career.

KVITOVA’S 20 WTA 1000-LEVEL SEMIFINALS (OR BETTER):
~ 8 TITLES: Madrid (2011), Canada (2012), Tokyo (2013), Wuhan (2014), Madrid (2015), Wuhan (2016), Doha (2018), Madrid (2018)
~ 4 MORE FINALS: Beijing (2014), Dubai (2019), Doha (2020), Cincinnati (2022)
~ 8 MORE SEMIFINALS: Tokyo (2011), Cincinnati (2012), Beijing (2013), Madrid (2014), Beijing (2017), Cincinnati (2018), Wuhan (2019), Miami (2023)

Awaiting Kvitova in the semifinals will be Sorana Cirstea, who’s taken out two Top 5 players—Caroline Garcia and Aryna Sabalenka—en route to her first Miami semifinal. Kvitova leads the head-to-head, 6-4, but Cirstea has won two of their last three meetings.

“She’s killing me at the Grand Slams,” said Kvitova, who fell to the Romanian at the Australian Open in 2021 and 2022. “I have to take my opportunity, of course. It will be a very similar game as today.

"I practiced with Sorana before the tournament, so it’s funny—and it’s nice to see her as well, over-30 being in the semifinals.”

Kvitova has a 12-7 career record in WTA 1000 semifinals, while Cirstea is 1-0, having reached the final in Toronto in 2013 (beating Li Na in the semis before finishing runner-up to Serena Williams).