Anett Kontaveit stretched her winning streak to 12 matches by beating Karolina Pliskova 6-4 6-0 to secure a spot in the semifinals at the WTA Finals.
The 25-year-old Estonian now has won 28 of her last 30 matches, including her title run at Ostrava. Prior to that, she had a 19-13 record for the year.
“I’ve really been enjoying being on court, just having a good time. I think that’s been the main thing why I’ve been doing so well. I do feel like I can take on everyone,” Kontaveit said on Friday.
Soaring
Kontaveit, who soared from No. 30 in the rankings into the top 10 since she started working with Dimitry Tursunov at the Cincinnati Masters, clinched a spot in the tournament’s final four.
“I think each win towards the end of the year just gave me more confidence,” Kontaveit said.
“I’ve been taking some good advice from my new coach as well. I think he’s brought some good, new energy to the team.”
In the late match on Friday, Garbine Muguruza rallied to beat Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, to remain in contention for the title.
To qualify for the semifinals for the second time in her career, the Spaniard (1-1) needs a win on Sunday against Kontaveit (2-0) and a victory over Pliskova (1-1).
Quick first set
The second-seeded Krejcikova broke Muguruza’s serve in the fifth and seventh games to take the first set in just 36 minutes. But Muguruza bounced back and broke Krejcikova in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and added a break in the eighth.
Muguruza, who is a local favourite after winning titles in Monterrey in 2018 and 2019, had a break in the third game of the third set and held on for the win.
The results (round-robin): Anett Kontaveit bt Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-0; Garbine Muguruza bt Barbora Krejcikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
