Defending champion Elina Svitolina stormed into the semifinals of the season-ending WTA Finals after a commanding win over Simona Halep on Wednesday, while Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu retired hurt, while trailing 6-3 against Karolina Pliskova.
Winless Andreescu can’t qualify for the last four, while Wimbledon champion Halep will play Pliskova to decide the group’s second spot.
Svitolina will finish top of Purple Group after taking advantage of an error-strewn Halep to win 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 39 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.
Svitolina, who beat Pliskova in straight sets on Monday, had the better of long baseline rallies against an uncharacteristically errant Halep, who finished with 38 unforced errors.
Good management
“It’s about managing attack and defence for me,” Svitolina said. “I’ve been working on this. That’s working well this week.”
The result broke a deadlock between the pair with Svitolina now holding a 5-4 edge and exacting revenge for a semiloss to Halep at Wimbledon.
The 25-year-old is hoping to end a barren season on a high having failed to win a title since last year’s WTA Finals triumph.
The results: Purple Group: Elina Svitolina bt Simona Halep 7-5, 6-3; Karolina Pliskova bt Bianca Andreescu 6-3, retd.
