At home and in charge, Bellis routs Kvitova at Stanford

Up against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals, Bellis staged a commanding 6-2, 6-0 victory in an hour and two minutes, thrilling a packed house at the Taube Family Tennis Center.

The second semifinal, requiring a separate ticket at 7 p.m., will be a big-time showcase of power tennis between Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, who defeated 20th-ranked Ana Konjuh 6-1, 6-3 earlier in the day, and Madison Keys, back from a lingering wrist injury and looking solid after defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-3.

Vandeweghe had an easy quarterfinal run as well, 6-2, 6-3 over fourth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Alone in her apartment, Kvitova was attacked by a knife-wielding man who gained entry on the pretense of checking the utility meter.

Kvitova fought back with a vengeance and the man fled, but not before inflicting wounds that lacerated the tendons in all four fingers and thumb on Kvitova’s left hand.

[...] Kvitova won one of those events, the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Birmingham, England.

Everyone knew she could play, that she’s a fighter and a problem solver, and that the future looked pretty good.

Double-faults (six) consistently set her back, and Bellis was by far the steadier player from the baseline, often turning defense into offense with her lightning-quick footwork and court sense.

Within moments of the first game, she cracked a running cross-court backhand winner to earn herself the first of many break points.

At set point, she delivered a clean, perfect ace — her only one of the match — right down the T. Closing out the game for 4-0 in the second set, she went to the slice on a running forehand for a stunning cross-court winner.

With everyone in the press room focusing on Bellis, Kvitova was not asked to come in for an interview.

[...] she offered insight into her mental state earlier in the week, saying, The worst was in Paris (the French Open, her first tournament upon returning), when I couldn’t put the bad thoughts away.

Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between Bellis and Vandeweghe, 25, who reached the 2012 Stanford final (losing to Serena Williams) and has beaten a number of top-20 players — including Muguruza, Angelique Kerber, Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki — this year.

Without question, Vandeweghe and Keys are considered the top American heirs to the throne so comprehensively shared by the Williams sisters.