Elina Svitolina yesterday beat second-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals of the WTA Elite Trophy.
The eighth-seeded Ukrainian took control after dropping a marathon 80-minute first set, saving four of seven break points in the second and third sets.
The tournament brings together 11 of the top players who did not qualify for last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore.
The qualifiers compete in a four-group round-robin format, with the winners of each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova coasted to a 6-1, 6-0 win over fourth-seeded Roberta Vinci, who already qualified for the semi-finals after Caroline Wozniacki retired against Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday and pulled out of the tournament.
In yesterday’s late singles match, the US’ Madison Keys defeated China’s Zheng Saisai 6-3, 6-2.
Top-seeded Venus Williams is to play against Vinci in today’s semi-finals, while third-seeded Karolina Pliskova faces Svitolina.
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