Andrea Petkovic vs. Nadia Petrova in WTA Cincinnati Open

Ninth seed Andrea Petkovic is shaping up to be a serious contender here at the Western and Southern Open, and she recorded a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 victory over Petra Kvitova on Thursday to earn a berth in the quarter-finals. The German has been consistently impressive this year, and it looks like her chances of winning a second WTA title for the season are fairly decent.

Petkovic will continue here on Friday with a potentially tricky matchup against world No. 27 Nadia Petrova. Petrova won the title in Washington D.C just over two weeks ago, and she appears to finally be in good form after a patchy start to 2011. She got through to the last eight by putting an end to the run of American youngster Christina McHale (6-3, 6-3).

Petkovic will step on court on Friday with a 1-0 head to head record against Petrova. This doesn’t necessarily indicate the outcome of the contest though, as Petkovic’s victory was sealed in a third set tie-breaker. This could be another close battle, and the fans in Cincinnati could be in for a real nail-biter.