Sharapova, Kvitova advance to the China Open semifinals

BEIJING, China -- While Serena Williams' withdrawal stole the early headlines, No. 3 Petra Kvitova and No. 4 Maria Sharapova eased into the semifinals at the China Open with their victories on Friday. Kvitova extended her current win-streak to seven matches by defeating Roberta Vinci 7-6 (2), 6-4 and will face Sam Stosur in the semifinals. Sharapova played her best match of the tournament with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The Russian, into just her second semifinal since winning the French Open in May, earns a semifinal rematch against No. 9 Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic, who got a walkover from Simona Halep in the quarterfinals, has beaten Sharapova in their last two matches. Most memorable was the 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 win in the Western & Southern Open semifinals this summer, in which Ivanovic saved match point and Sharapova appeared to call her out for an ill-timed medical timeout early in the second set.

The Evolution of Tennis Fashion: Ana Ivanovic

2005

Braces! Nike! Separates! 17-year-old Ivanovic starts her climb.

2006

Ivanovic makes her move to Adidas, where she'd end up signing a lifetime deal in 2010.

2006

Wimbledon whites. Also note the Wilson racket.

2006

Adidas opts for the string tank-top. Ah, the mid-aughts.

2007

Ivanovic's first signature dress, which she wore to en route to her first Slam final at Roland Garros. She lost to Justine Henin in straight sets.

2007

Ivanovic at the U.S. Open. One of Ivanovic's freshest looks.

2008

Adidas never did better than the bubble dress, which appeared in two Slam finals in 2008.

2008

Ivanovic lost to Maria Sharapova in the 2008 Australian Open in the blue version of the Adidas bubble dress.

2008

The iconic coral bubble dress launched a champion. Ivanovic won her maiden title at the French Open and took over the No. 1 ranking.

2008

Let's forget the petal dress ever happened. An early example of Adidas trying too hard.

2008

You're forgiven if you forget this look. Ivanovic was seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open and lost to a qualifier in the second round.

2009

Ivanovic was stuck with Adidas' attempt to "Go Greek" for over six months.

2009

Swapping the colorways didn't save Adidas' "Greek Goddess" look.

2009

Things get meshy at Wimbeldon.

2009

The mesh continued in Tokyo. As Adidas would eventually learn, less is more.

2010

Well at least they got the simple part right. This marked a turn towards a more modern look from Adidas.

2010

The first great dress since her iconic 2008 dress.

2011

The heavy zipper on the front was a distracting design choice.

2011

A callback to the bright blue of her 2008 bubble dress.

2012

Seemingly a simple design, but the dress never fit well on Ivanovic and the "X" pattern across the chest was unfortunate.

2012

Ivanovic actually pulled off this neon-yellow look better than others did at the 2012 U.S. Open.

2013

One dress, two colorways. Not feeling the faux-strapless look.

2013

Ivanovic went all UCLA by the time spring came.

2014

Still obsessed with greek draping and mesh, Adidas actually finally got it right at the Australian Open.

2014

For Paris, Adidas kept the same silhouette and got rid of the draped neckline. Voila!

2104

She wore this simple dress in both black and pink at the U.S. Open and it was easily her best look since 2008.

"It was a very tough match we had in Cincinnati," Sharapova said. "Just a point away from winning the match. It was a tough one to lose."

Both Sharapova and Kvitova have an opportunity to move up to No. 2 after Beijing. A title run would assure the winner the No. 2 spot. and securing that ranking slot before the WTA Finals would assure group placement opposite Serena. With Serena's withdrawal from the China Open, the year-end No. 1 ranking could be in play in Singapore. Sharapova says she's not thinking about it.

"I mean, honestly, in the middle of the year everyone was talking about me staying in the top 10 for such a long period of time," Sharapova said. "Every match I played, a three-setter, they go, If she doesn't win this one, she'll be out of the top 10. Honestly, I faced those questions for quite a few tournaments.... To be able to put myself back in the position to be No. 1 again is incredible. I didn't know whether I would be able to have that consistency before the year started."

Mailbag: The debate over Kafelnikov, ATP-Asian Games and Neil Harman

Kvitova overcame a slow start to reel in Vinci, rallying from 1-5 down in the first set to force a tiebreaker and win the set. "She's not really my favorite player to play against," Kvitova said. "I mean, she has really different game which not really suits me. She has great slice and it [gives] me lots of troubles over there." The Czech is now 13-1 over her last four tournaments, with the one loss coming in the third round of the U.S. Open to Aleksandra Krunic. Kvitova's strong run of form comes at a time when the energy and motivation levels on tour can be difficult. "I'm not feeling with the full of energy," she said. "I'm tired. But it's for everybody same. I'm not injured. But, of course, your body, it's feeling heavy."

Kvitova is 6-1 against Stosur, with that one loss coming on clay. She secured her spot for the WTA Finals last week, easing the pressure as she plays out the rest of the season. "It's a long season," Kvitova said. "Normally we are alone on the tournaments. It's just hotel room. Then you are glad if you are onsite and you can chat with somebody. If nobody's in the locker room, it's tough. Yeah, I think a lot of players are, like, tired already and are looking forward to go home and be there. But on the other side, it's a big tournament and everybody is happy we're still in the draw and still playing."