DEFENDING champion Elina Svitolina became the first player to secure a semifinal spot at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen on Wednesday with a straight sets win over Simona Halep, while Bianca Andreescu retired injured in her meeting with Karolina Pliskova.

The 19-year-old U.S. Open champion pulled out after the end of the first set having lost 6-3 after suffering an injury to her left knee midway through the third game.

Svitolina sealed a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the Wimbledon champion as she notched up her second win a row two days after defeating Pliskova to guarantee a top two finish in the round-robin phase of the competition. “It was an extremely physical match and we were both chasing a lot of balls and we left a lot of energy out on the court,” said Svitolina.

“I was expecting a tough match here when I arrived and I had to stay really focused on each game of each match and hopefully I can keep up this level and play strong in the next match as well.”

Svitolina made a strong start to the match, breaking Halep early to establish a three-game lead only for the Romanian to break back and level the scores midway through the set.

(SD-Agencies)