Kerber, Halep set for Wimbledon rematch in Montreal

[July 30, 2016]  (Reuters) - Angelique Kerber cruised past Daria Kasatkina 6-2 6-2 to reach the last four of the Rogers Cup on Friday, where she will reprise her Wimbledon quarter-final clash with Simona Halep after the Romanian beat ninth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Fifth seed Halep had the tougher quarter-final, recovering from a rough start to beat Kuznetsova 3-6 6-1 6-1.

Halep dropped serve three times in the first set but did not face a single break point after that.

"It was very tough," said Halep, who was beaten by Kerber at Wimbledon on July 5. "She played very well and she's very strong so I knew it was going to be like this.

"I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match and I didn't really feel the ball. But I just tried to be aggressive and play my game ... I was fighting today."

Second seed Kerber had a much easier day, taking only an hour to beat unseeded Russian Kasatkina.

"I think I played really well today and it's really nice to be in the semis for the first time in Montréal," said the Australian Open champion.

"I was trying to focus on my game because it was the first time I met her and it worked."

Angelique Kerber of Germany reacts after defeating Daria Kasatkina of Russia (not pictured) on day five of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament at Uniprix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

The other semi-final will pit 10th seeded American Madison Keys against unseeded Slovakian Kristina Kucova.

Keys won a topsy-turvy quarter-final against 16th seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(3) 1-6 6-0 in the early evening match.

Kucova eliminated British 15th seed Johanna Konta 6-4 6-3 in the night match.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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