Peschke, Schuurs storm past Perez, Sanders into Cincinnati semis

NEW YORK, NY, USA - No.3 seeds Kveta Peschke and Demi Schuurs forged into their first semifinal as a team with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Ellen Perez and Storm Sanders at the Western & Southern Open in just one hour and two minutes.

The Czech-Dutch duo are a brand new partnership in 2020, and had not been able to win consecutive matches prior to the tour shutdown. But between them, they own 44 titles - including Peschke's 2011 Wimbledon crown alongside Katarina Srebotnik - as well a further four Grand Slam runner-up plates for the 45-year-old veteran. Moreover, both have excelled at this tournament before: Peschke was runner-up in 2005 with Maria Emilia Salerni and in 2013 with Anna-Lena Groenefeld, while Schuurs has been a finalist for the past two years, partnering Elise Mertens in 2018 and the now-retired Groenefeld in 2019.

Peschke and Schuurs delivered an efficient performance in the first set, particularly on serve, where they faced just one deciding point. Schuurs especially impressed with her phenomenal reflexes at net, frequently being the player who would end rapid-fire volley exchanges by finding the angle for a winner.

Read more: 'You only live once' - On court and off, Schuurs stands out

Perez and Sanders, a rare pair of left-handers, mustered up good resistance with some authoritative holds of their own, but the set would be decided by a break of the Perez serve to love in the fifth game thanks to a double fault and a pair of clean return winners from each of her opponents. The unseeded Australians would valiantly stave off two set points on the Perez serve down 3-5, but could not prevent Peschke serving out the first act to love, Schuurs sealing it with a neat volley down the middle.

The seeded pair again targeted the Perez delivery at the start of the second set, Schuurs again excelling with a nifty cross and a swift move to strike a powerful backhand and break to love. This time, though, the Acapulco and Monterrey semifinalists struck back, finally making an impact on their opponents' serves thanks to a pair of excellent Sanders returns and breaking Peschke to level at 2-2.

However, rather than this setting the stage for a more narrow contest, it only served to light a fire under Peschke and Schuurs. Perez continued to struggle with double faults, squandering her team's momentum by opening the next service game with her fourth and fifth of the day - and with the door reopened, Peschke and Schuurs roared through it. Indeed, they would race through 16 of the last 19 points of the match, breaking both Perez and Sanders once more each and dictating with solid net play, sealing victory as a Perez volley went wide.