Singapore - Kerber, Stephens shine

The WTA Finals in Singapore continued with two more matches in the Red Group completed.

Red Group (as seeded)

Angie Kerber (1)

Naomi Osaka (3)

Sloane Stephens (5)

Kiki Bertens (8)

White Group (as seeded)

Caroline Wozniacki (2)

Petra Kvitová (4)

Elina Svitolina (6)

Karolina Pliskova (7)

Results (Red Group)

• Angie Kerber (1) v Naomi Osaka (3)

In two and a half hours of top class tennis, the winners of the past two Grand Slam tournaments put their individual skills on display - Angie Kerber with her sustained court coverage and quality returning, Naomi Osaka with her powerful serve and ground strokes.

After the pair exchanged service breaks, each to love, things settled down and the tennis blossomed.

Winners flowed from the Osaka racquet, but Kerber contained the effect, and her excellent counterpunching enabled her to break a second time.

Serving at 5-4 for the set, Kerber saved three break points, and took a 6-4 lead

Five breaks of serve in the first nine games of set two, three to Kerber, had the top seed serving for the match, but a resilient Osaka refused to accept defeat, winning this and the remaining games.  7-5 and the sets were shared.

In contrast, serves were held in the deciding set until the seventh game, where Osaka failed to convert a 40-15 lead.  The first serve deserted her, and Kerber pounced, the decisive break coming.

It was enough to carry Angie Kerber to victory 6-4 5-7 6-4

• Sloane Stephens (5) v Kiki Bertens (8)

In another three set high standard match, Sloane Stephens, with speed and movement around the court, made the dream start, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening set.

Unforced errors from the American allowed Bertens to break back for 2-3, but a forehand winner set up a break point for Stephens in the next game, which she converted for 4-2.

Bertens made it three successive service breaks before some order was restored and no more damage to the server before a tie break was necessary.

Sloane Stephens won the tie break on the the third chance, thanks largely to Berten errors, and she led 7-6(4).

Set two was all Kiki Bertens, and she raced to a 5-1 lead.  Serving for the set, and leading 40-0, two double faults contributed to a loss of serve, but Bertens steadied to break Stephens in the next game for a 6-2 success.

The momentum continued for the Dutch player, leading 2-0 in the decider, but Stephens stood firm and lifted her game once again.  Bertens became indecisive at times, and her error count rose under the pressure exerted by Stephens, who rattled off four straight games to regain the ascendency.

At 3-5, and needing to hold serve to stay in the contest, Bertens failed, and the victor was Sloane Stephens 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3

Points after Day Three

• Red Group
• Stephens 500
• Bertens 375
• Kerber 375
• Osaka 250

• White Group
• Svitolina 500
• Pliskova 375
• Wozniacki 375
• Kvitová 250