WTA Finals: Anett Kontaveit reaches semis; Garbine Muguruza wins
Number eight seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia defeated Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. The win means that Kontaveit is guaranteed to finish in the top two of the Teotihuacan round-robin group. No.5 seed Garbine Muguruza kept her hopes alive of advancing to the semis with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Barbora Krejcikova.
Why does it matter?
Kontaveit is enjoying a sound run of form, claiming her 12th straight win. This was a spirited performance against an experienced campaigner like Pliskova, who had earlier won her opening match. Kontaveit's 12-match winning run includes titles in Moscow and Cluj-Napoca. She had earlier downed Krejcikova. Meanwhile, Muguruza's win means it could be a straight battle between Pliskova and herself in terms of progression.
Key numbers for Kontaveit
Kontaveit has beaten Pliskova for the first time in four meetings. She had a 0-3 head-to-head record prior to this meeting. Kontaveit now has a 28-2 win-loss record across her final eight tournaments of this season. As per WTA, she owns a tour-leading 38 match-wins on hard courts this year.
Key details about the match
Kontaveit took 57 minutes to claim her second win of the week to earn progression. The WTA Finals debutant won 24 of her 29 first-service points and fired six aces. Meanwhile, Pliskova was unable to convert any of her three break points, all coming in a single game. She fired four aces in this match and won 63 percent of her first-service points.
Kontaveit opens up on her performance
Kontaveit said she is thrilled to reach the semis in her post-match press conference. She felt that it was very good match played by her. It was also very important for her to be as consistent as possible. Kontaveit acknowledged that she took some time to get used to Pliskova's serves as her game was getting better.
Muguruza prevails in must-win scenario
Muguruza and Krejcikova had lost their opening matches. It was a must-win scenario for Muguruza, who would have been eliminated with a loss. But with her three-set win, both she and Krejcikova, along with No.3 seed Pliskova, have a chance to reach the semi-finals based on Sunday's matches. Krejcikova has a 0-2 result so far in the ongoing WTA Finals.
Key stats of the match
Muguruza served six aces in the match compared to Krejcikova's eight. She converted four out of the 10 break points. Meanwhile, Krejcikova converted four out of the eight break points. In this tight encounter, Muguruza won a total of 89 points, with Krejcikova claiming 88.
