Barbora Krejcikova knocks out Iga Swiatek to book WTA Finals semi-final spot
The Wimbledon champion defeated Coco Gauff to top the group, knocking out the defending champion Swiatek, and will play Zheng Qinwen on Friday.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Barbora Krejcikova defeated Coco Gauff to book her spot in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals and knock out defending champion Iga Swiatek.
The Pole needed less than an hour to dispatch alternate Daria Kasatkina, who had replaced the injured Jessica Pegula, 6-1 6-0 in the opening match of the day in Riyadh.
But her chances of progress depended on the second match, and her luck was out as Wimbledon champion Krejcikova battled to a 7-5 6-4 victory over Gauff, whose place in the last four was already secured.
All three women finished the group stage with two wins from three matches but Krejcikova, the lowest-ranked player at the tournament, topped the pool by virtue of the best sets percentage, with Swiatek the one to miss out.
Czech Krejcikova will take on Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in the last four on Friday while Gauff meets world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Krejcikova’s shock Wimbledon win was the outstanding high point of what has been largely a disappointing season for her.
But she has risen to the occasion in Saudi Arabia, bouncing back from a three-set defeat by Swiatek in her opening match by beating Pegula and Gauff, saving 11 of 12 break points on Thursday.
“Definitely this is a big win for me,” said the 28-year-old in her on-court interview.
“I’m really happy with the way that I played. Being able to quality for the Finals and also reaching the semi-finals, it’s something unimaginable before this tournament. I’m very proud of myself and I’m looking forward to the new challenges.”
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments