LUXEMBOURG – No.1 seed Petra Kvitova and No.3 seed Kiki Bertens produced a pair of shutout performances to wrap up their quarterfinal matches comfortably. Both needed less than an hour – exactly 54 minutes, in fact – to book their spots into the semifinals of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

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It didn’t start out so simple for Kvitova against No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, who was into her seventh WTA quarterfinal of the year. They wrestled for footing at the start of the match, opening with four consecutive breaks of serve.

But once she settled, it was all Kvitova as the Czech reeled off 11 games in a row to power past Larsson 6-2, 6-0.

She’ll face the winner between Andrea Petkovic and American qualifier Lauren Davis for a spot in the final.

It was the opposite story for Bertens in her quarterfinal against Denisa Allertova, with the Dutch player advancing 6-0, 6-4.

Bertens was dominant on the return and broke Allertova three times, allowing the Czech to win just one point off of her services games in the 15-minute opening set.

Allertova finally held serve in the second set and stopped the rot after eight consecutive games, with Bertens up 6-0, 2-0. She put Bertens under pressure at the baseline with her powerful forehand, grabbing one of the breaks back to level the set at 2-2 and stay within touching distance.

But Bertens dug her heels in to bat away a break opportunity, breaking Allertova once more in the penultimate game to serve her way into the semifinals.

“Everyone is really tired at the end of the year, and so am I, so it’s really good to have short matches like this to get ready for the semifinals,” Bertens smiled in post-match press. “I’m just going to play here, have fun, and see how it goes.”

Monica Niculescu received a walkover into the semifinal after No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki was forced to withdraw from the match due to gastrointestinal illness.

“After the match yesterday I felt really ill and really sick,” Wozniacki explained to press afterwards. “I did everything I could to feel better today but unfortunately I’m not strong enough or feeling good to play today. I need to think about my health.

“Of course, I’m disappointed because I love to play here and of course was trying to win the tournament, but health comes first.”

More to follow…