WTA Finals: Stephens to face Svitolina in final

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Sloane Stephens and Elina Svitolina enjoyed contrasting three-set victories on Saturday to set up a fascinating WTA Finals title showdown between the only undefeated women at the eight-player season-ending tournament.

Stephens remarkably lost the first eight games of her semi-final against a relentless Karolina Pliskova before the athletic American turned the contest on its head in the second set to emerge with a 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph over the Czech.

“I came out a little nervous and wasn't quite feeling the ball and she was absolutely working me in the beginning,” Stephens said in a post-match interview.

“I just tried to stay in it, get as many balls back as I could and am really proud of my fight today.”

Sloane Stephens celebrates after defeating Karolina Pliskova during the 2018 WTA Finals women's singles semi-final match, October 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

In the early match, Ukraine's Svitolina put on a defensive masterclass to stifle the power of Kiki Bertens with a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory over the Dutchwoman in a gripping encounter that could have gone either way.

Svitolina arrived in Singapore out of form yet determined to “silence the haters”, who she said believed she did not deserve to be in the tournament, and the Ukrainian has played brilliantly to win all three pool matches and her semi-final.

“In the end, it was just about running and chasing every ball, the level was very tough, we were both playing such good tennis, I was just happy to close it out,” Svitolina said.

Svitolina reaches her career's biggest final with an unbeaten battle with Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, and Caroline Wozniacki in the round-robin stage, and then Kiki Bertens in the semifinal.

Stephens leads Svitolina 2-1 in their head-to-head stats, the American enjoying a straight-sets win over the Ukrainian in the last meeting at the Rogers Cup in August.

Source(s): Reuters