WTA Finals: Pliskova and Halep fight for last free place
While Elina Svitolina (WTA 8) is already prematurely crowned winner of the purple group at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, Karolina Pliskova (WTA 2) and Simona Halep (WTA 5) are all about the final group game of the round robin round.
by Robert M. Frank
last edit: Nov 01, 2019, 11:14 am
Halep leads the neck-and-neck race against the 27-year-old Czech with 7: 3. The only previous encounters between the two on hard courts in the hall took place in the first round of the Fed Cup: Pliskova won in 2016 in Cluj-Napoca, paving the way for the Czech Republic to 3: 2. In 2019, however, the 28-year-old Romanian scored a three-pronged triumph in Romania's 3-2 revenge. At the last clash, Pliskova won in the semifinals of Miami. Only those who win the eleventh duel on Saturday (not before 1pm CEST) will continue to play in Shenzhen from the semi-final.
Svitolinas place at the top, however, is already secured prematurely. The defending champion needs in the first semi-final on Saturday (11.30 CEST) against Sofia Kenin (WTA 12), which intervenes for injured on Thursday failed Bianca Andreescu (WTA 4), no further victory for the semi-final qualification. The 25-year-old Ukrainian will face Belinda Bencic, who finished second in the red group, regardless of the outcome of the match. The winner of the match between Halep and Pliskova, however, meets the second group winner Ashleigh Barty.