World number one Ash Barty edged out Karolina Pliskova 4-6 6-2 6-3 to reach the final at the WTA Finals, where she will play Elina Svitolina.
The Australian overcame an early Pliskova barrage to break three times and secure a three set win that ensures she plays the Championship match in Shenzhen.
Although the Czech Republican gained the early momentum, the second set produced a flat performance in the second half of the match.
Next for Barty in the final is defending champion Elina Svitolina after her opponent Belinda Bencic retired at 4-1 down in the final set.
In the first meeting between the top two players in the world on the WTA side this season, it was Pliskova who made the better start as she created five break points opportunities in the first two return games.
The signs were there that Pliskova’s returning was going to be the key shot especially when capitalising on the weak Barty second serve.
On her eight break point the world number two secured the break for a 3-2 lead as the Roland Garros Champion was struggling to get her forehand into play effectively.
Winning 74% of first service points as she cruised to service holds until the last game where Barty tried to take advantage to of Pliskova’s nerves.
However the Czech Republican managed to hold on to win the first set 6-4.
It was the second seed who had the momentum at the start of the second set as well as she created four break points on the Barty serve.
But some missed forehands saw frustration appear in Pliskova’s game as she failed to break which was the momentum swing that Barty needed.
The very next game saw the 23 year-old secure the crucial break for a 3-1 lead as the slice was causing problems for Pliskova.
Another break in the eighth game sealed the second set for the Australian as this match was heading to a deciding set.
To decide the winner it was all about who was more clinical with their opportunities and with her first break point of the set Barty struck with some brilliant movement towards the net.
🔥🔥 @ashbarty cross court at the net to break#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/mdvNUzZlHR
— wta (@WTA) November 2, 2019
There was more flow to Barty’s play as she started to hit the forehand more cleanly as she was now in control of the contest.
No opportunities were created for Pliskova as on third match point, the Australian sealed her place in the final WTA match of the season.
A much better second half of the match secured Barty’s place in the final showdown in Shenzhen where she will play defending WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina.
The Ukrainian lead Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-3 4-1 before the Swiss retired as she ended her season in tears. After the match Svitolina admitted it was tough to win in those circumstances, “It’s tough to play someone who has been injured, been injured on the court,” Svitolina said after the match.
“It was tough for her. It’s still kind of not realizing that I’m in the final. It’s the very, very last match of the season. Definitely tomorrow, I’m going to leave everything on the court and fight just to try to get another trophy here.”
