For the first time ever, Spain will have two representatives in the semifinals of the Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara, as Garbine Muguruza joins Paula Badosa in the final four with a victory over already qualified Anett Kontaveit.
Last month, Kontaveit needed only 49 minutes to dispatch Muguruza en route to the Moscow title, but in Sunday’s final round-robin match in Group Teotihuacan the Spaniard ended the Estonian’s 12-match winning streak with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
Muguruza is through to the semifinals of the season-ending tournament for the second time, having also been this far on her debut in 2015.
Earlier on Sunday, Karolina Pliskova recovered from a 6-0 4-2 deficit to force the third set against fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova. Pliskova then saved two break points in the penultimate game of the decider and earned a break to beat the reigning Roland Garros champion 0-6 6-4 6-4.
In Group Teotihuacan, Pliskova and Krejcikova have failed to qualify for the semifinals. Pliskova needed Kontaveit to win her last round-robin match in order to advance to the semifinals, but the in-form Estonian lost to Muguruza.
In Group Chichen Itza, we know that Paula Badosa has qualified for the WTA Finals semis and she’s set to face compatriot Garbine Muguruza. The other semifinalist from this group is yet to be determined — it will be either Aryna Sabalenka or Maria Sakkari and the winner of their Monday’s round-robin match will face Anett Kontaveit in semifinals on Tuesday.
