Caroline Wozniacki takes epic, Elina Svitolina wins 2nd straight match
They had both lost their opening matches at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Another defeat, and advancing past the round-robin stage to the semi-finals would be out of their hands.
Such were the high stakes when defending champion Caroline Wozniacki faced 2011 winner Petra Kvitova last night that both brought their “A” games to the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
After an epic three-set slugfest, it was Wozniacki who emerged triumphant 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in 2hr 19min to maintain control of her bid to retain the Billie Jean King Trophy.
It was the Dane’s first win over Kvitova since 2014, as she managed to fend off the Czech’s powerful shot-making. She said after her win, “I know Petra’s patterns, but it doesn’t always help. You know, she plays so fast that sometimes you just don’t have time.
“I just tried to make her feel uncomfortable and make her feel like she couldn’t be in position all the time, and it worked well for me.”
For Kvitova, her second straight defeat meant that she could be eliminated even if she wins her final round-robin match. Nevertheless, she remained upbeat during her post-match media conference.
She said, “Definitely I played better than the first match, for sure. I found a way to fight…and I should just look forward for the next match. I feel weird, to be honest. I still do have one more match here, anyway. I do have Fed Cup finals, so the season is not over yet.”
In the second match of the night, Elina Svitolina put herself firmly in the driver’s seat to advance to the semi-finals with a gritty 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova.
The Ukrainian has won her first two matches, the only player in the White Group to do so, and this victory puts her top of the group with one match to play.
Related stories:
Sloan Stephens, Kiki Bertens grind out 3-set wins at WTA Finals
WTA Finals begins with 2 surprise results as Pliskova, Svitolina triumph
