Sydney: Former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the Sydney International semifinals on Wednesday with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over fellow Czech player Lucie Safarova.
Kvitova, the second seed, will play the winner of the quarterfinal being played later Wednesday between Italy's Sara Errani and Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
In other women's play at the Australian Open warm-up tournament, defending champion Elena Vesnina retired from her second-round match at the Hobart International with a back injury. Spanish qualifier Estrella Cabeza Candela was leading the match 4-6, 6-2, 4-1 when Vesnina quit.
Vesnina claimed her first WTA title in Hobart last year and was looking to become the first back-to-back winner in the event's 21-year history.
In men's play at Sydney, Australian wild card Marinko Matosevic upset third-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Defending champion Bernard Tomic was scheduled to play his second-round match later Wednesday.
