Singapore: Caroline Wozniacki stood her ground in the face of some incredible early pressure before pulling away from Karolina Pliskova to eke out a 7-6(11-9), 6-3 victory in a captivating semifinal showdown at the WTA Finals here Saturday.
The victory, completed in four minutes under two hours, was built on the Dane’s resilience, consistency and greater variation on the key points, and put the 27-year-old into her second final in the eight-woman event after losing in 2010.
“We have had a lot of close matches this year and I was hoping today was my turn. It feels great to be in the final and I have been playing some great tennis this week,” Wozniacki said in a courtside interview.
Pliskova was the aggressor early on and found more success when she committed to her attacking shots, while Wozniacki was content to use her supreme court coverage and stonewall defence to stay in touch.
The first five games went with serve until Czech Pliskova edged ahead by instigating a run of four straight breaks of serve as Wozniacki staved off three set points in the 10th game to stay alive in the set and eventually forced a tie-break.
The Dane then raced into a 6-1 lead over the sleepwalking Pliskova before the Czech rose from her slumber to first save all five set points and then fashion three more of her own, which Wozniacki somehow managed to survive. Danish former World No.1 Wozniacki then sealed the set when when Pliskova found the net with a backhand.
The Dane had an early break to go ahead 3-1, but Pliskova broke back to tie the score at three-all. Wozniacki, unfazed, again broke for a 5-3 lead and closed the set with a stinging backhand cross-court winner which left her opponent stranded. Wozniacki will meet Venus Williams for the title after the American overcame Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 6-7(3-7), 6-2, 6-3.
Hingis career ends in defeat
Singapore: Martina Hingis ended her career on a losing note when the retiring Swiss great and her partner Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan were beaten 4-6, 6-7(5-7) by Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova in a WTA Finals doubles semifinal here Saturday. Hingis had announced Thursday that the event would be the last in her pro career. Hingis had won three doubles titles here – two with Anna Kournikova and one with Sania Mirza. Despite the defeat, Hingis will go out on a high after the WTA confirmed Friday that the Swiss had secured the year-end No.1 ranking in women’s doubles alongside Chan after the pair won nine titles in 2017, including the US Open.
Agencies
