Zheng Makes SFs; Swiatek Must Win, Then Depend On Gauff
by Staff | November 7th, 2024, 1:02 am
Zheng Qinwen booked her spot in the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Wednesday hammering 2-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini 6-1, 6-1.
The victory put the gold medalist into the last four with a 2-1 record, and she’ll now await the winner of the Orange Group.
Aryna Sabalenka, who also locked up the year-end No. 1 ranking yesterday, was back and fell to Elena Rybakina in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in a virtual exhibition. Sabalenka had already won the Purple Group while Rybakina had been eliminated.
On Thursday, the round robin stage wraps up with Iga Swiatek faces alternate Daria Kasatkina. The Russian replaced Jessica Pegula who withdrew with a left knee issue.
“Just been kind of struggling with a little bit of an injury,” Pegula said. “And for whatever reason, it kind of really flared up this week. Not really sure why. In the few days before practice, it felt really, really good, but it started creeping up right before my first match, and just feel like I’m not feeling comfortable moving on court.”
Swiatek has to win the match and have Gauff beat Barbora Krejcikova to advance to the semifinals. That’s the only way the 2-time defending champion can stay alive.
If Gauff, who is already in the semifinals, loses, then Krejcikova moves on. If the Czech wins in straights, then she wins the group and would face Zheng while Gauff would get Sabalenka.
THURSDAY WTA FINALS RIYADH SCHEDULE
Start 1:00pm
[2] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) / Erin Routliffe (NZL) vs [5] Caroline Dolehide (USA) / Desirae Krawczyk (USA)
Not Before 3:30pm
[2] Iga Swiatek (POL) vs (Alt) Daria Kasatkina
Not Before 6:00pm
[3] Coco Gauff (USA) vs [8] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)
[4] Sara Errani (ITA) / Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs [7] Chan Hao-Ching (TPE) / Veronika Kudermetova
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