Semi final day in Zhuhai for the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy, and unfortunately Madison Keys (6) had to withdraw from her match, leaving Qiang Wang (11) as the replacement.
First semi final
Defending champion Julia Goerges (5) v Ash Barty (9)
A terrific battle between the pair saw eight games pass without any break points offered, and plenty of outstanding winners littering all parts of the court.
Then, totally off script, Barty fell away when delivering, donating three break chances to Goerges. Two were saved, one with a clutch second serve ace, but the third gifted the opening set to Germany 6-4.
Down a break in set two, Barty bounced back in no uncertain terms, her sliced backhand working a treat, and her forehand consistently leaving Goerges in unfavourable court positions.
Barty broke twice to level the match 4-6 6-3.
The decider became a procession, with Barty winning 70% of points when serving, and 57% when not.
Goerges showed signs of tiring, despite the match only lasting an hour and three quarters. Of course it had been extremely intense, with many rallies requiring the very best in running all over the place from both players - Barty, though, appeared the fresher out of the exchanges.
The scoreboard accurately reflected the mood of the match, as the Australian broke twice to claim a spot in the last two, 4-6 6-3 6-2.
The defending champion was out, and Ash Barty entered her third final of 2018, a contender for her third and biggest career title.
Garbiñe Muguruza (7) v Qiang Wang (11)
Muguruza came into the match undefeated, but had lost the opening set in both those wins. After defeating Madison Keys in their round robin match, Qiang Wang still missed out on a semi final spot to the American.
Ironically, a knee injury to the American allowed Wang to replace Keys and battle Garbiñe for a finals place.
The match began on serve and Muguruza led 2-1. That was the end for the Spaniard who failed to win another game.
Qiang Wang hardly put a foot wrong, defeating a lack lustre Muguruza 6-2 6-0, including taking the final 11 games - Wang won 74% of points on her serve and 58% of points on Muguruza’s serve.
The Chinese number one will now move to number 20 in the world rankings, and has the chance to win her biggest tournament yet against Ash Barty in the final.
Final doubles round robin matches
- Wildcards Xinyu Jiang / Zhaoxuan Yang (5) defeated Miyu Kato / Makato Ninomiya (2) 6-3 6-4
- Wildcards Qianhui Tang / Fang Ying Xun (6) defeated Shuko Aoyama / Lidziya Marozava (4) 3-6 6-3 10-6
However the doubles final will be:
Lyudmyla Kichenok / Nadiia Kichenok (3) v Shuko Aoyama / Lidziya Marozava (4)
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