Anett Kontaveit powered past third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-0 to lead the way into the semi-finals of the season-ending WTA Finals a...
Anett Kontaveit powered past third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-0 to lead the way into the semi-finals of the season-ending WTA Finals at Guadalajara on Friday.
The eighth-seeded Estonian continued her late-season surge, notching her 12th straight WTA match win as she assured herself of finishing in the top two of her group in the round-robin phase.
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza kept her hopes of advancing from the same group alive with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Kontaveit, whose win streak included titles at Moscow and Cluj-Napoca, had beaten Krejcikova in her tournament opener.
“Of course, very thrilled to be in the semi-finals,” said Kontaveit, who needed just 57 minutes to roar past Pliskova, winning 24 of her 29 first-service points and claiming the last eight games for her first career victory over the Czech in four meetings.
“I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I was three-love down in previous matches,” Kontaveit said. “Every time you step on the court you have a new opportunity. The previous matches don’t really matter. It’s a new day and you have to beat the player you’re playing against.”
But Kontaveit is riding a wave of confidence, having won 28 of her past 30 matches.
“I’ve really been enjoying being on court,...
