30 October,2019 09:26 AM IST | Shenzhen | AFP
Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens. Pics/AFP
Shenzhen: Late entry Kiki Bertens on Tuesday stunned world number one Ashleigh Barty with a comeback three-set victory to shake-up the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen. All four players in the Red Group can still qualify for the semi-finals, after Belinda Bencic's three-set victory over Petra Kvitova in the later match. Bertens looked in deep trouble at a set and a break down, but turned the tide with ruthless returning and aggressive play at the net to overwhelm a deflated Barty, who could have sealed a spot in the semis with a win.
Bertens -- the world No.10 who was a late replacement for an injured Naomi Osaka -- won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes in a see-saw match featuring 12 breaks of serve. Osaka, the world number three, withdrew from the round-robin tournament earlier in the day due to a shoulder injury. "Of course you're always ready to play, but I did not see it coming today," Bertens said of her late call-up. "In the beginning, I was struggling. As the match continued, I felt better and better."
Bertens appeared nervous under the bright lights dropping her first three service games and Barty, who has locked up the year-end No.1 ranking, pounced to run away with the first set. Barty then endured her own service woes against an increasingly aggressive Bertens, who showcased a soft touch at the net. A slumping Barty had her serve broken five times through the second and third sets as Bertens stormed to her first victory over the Australian. Barty lamented letting her early lead slip away. "I wasn't able to execute as cleanly when I was up in the score line," she said. Bertens, who made the semi-finals of last year's WTA Finals, continued her strong form after making the finals in Zhuhai last week and the semi-finals of the China Open earlier in the month, when she lost a three-set thriller to Barty.
In the later match, Bencic fought back from a second set spiral to beat Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes. It kept her tournament hopes alive after she had lost her opening match to Barty. "I was proud that I was able to block away her big shots," Bencic said. "I was happy that at the end I was able to keep calm." "I didn't even feel nervous," Bencic added.
"I knew if I didn't win this match that I'm eliminated, but I didn't think about it." Kvitova's serve went off the boil as she fell away badly in the first set to lose five straight games. A double fault was a fitting way for the Czech to hand Bencic the first set. But the match flipped in the second set with Kvitova, the 2011 WTA Finals champion, rediscovering her lethal serve to force a decider.
The twists continued in the third set with Bencic breaking in the third game as a flustered Kvitova slammed her racquet on the ground. The Swiss failed to capitalise in the next game but grabbed the decisive break in the ninth before confidently closing it out on serve. Kvitova rued her inconsistency in the first and third sets. "Definitely, I couldn't find my rhythm there. I found it for a couple of games, then I lost it," she said. Winless Kvitova plays Barty on Thursday and Bencic meets Bertens to determine the winners from the Red Group.
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