"Was a tough one. I expected it" - Kvitova on snapping Haddad Maia's winning streak

Petra Kvitova ended the career-best 12-match winning streak of Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6(5), 6-4 at the Rothesay International.

Kvitova prevailed in just under 2 hours on Friday, stopping No.15 seed Haddad Maia’s breakthrough surge and making the Eastbourne final for the second time. Kvitova fell to Marion Bartoli in the 2011 Eastbourne final, just weeks before Kvitova won the first of her two Wimbledon titles.

Speaking after the match, she said:

"It was a tough one, that’s what I expected. It was about the serve, that was a key to the tiebreak in the first set and the early break in the second. Just one break in the whole match, so it was really a grass game today."

Coming into the semifinal showdown, Kvitova had only a .500 win-loss record for the season (13-13). The former World No.2 from the Czech Republic had not even reached a semifinal this year until this week. She even lost to Haddad Maia on grass recently but avenged that loss today slamming 27 winners to Haddad Maia's 12. For the second match in a row, Kvitova was not broken and faced only a single break point.