By Matthew Marolf
On Tuesday in Singapore, the four players in the white group play their second of three round robin matches.
In Sunday’s opening round, the lower seeds in this group won both matches. Elina Svitolina defeated Petra Kvitova for the first time in eight tries, and Karolina Pliskova upset the defending champion, Caroline Wozniacki. Both Svitolina and Pliskova won in straight sets, and both dropped six games, leaving the winners and losers in an exact tie for first and last place in the white group. We’ll break those ties on Tuesday, as Sunday’s winners and losers will face off against each other.
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Petra Kvitova
Both of these women need to win on Tuesday to guarantee they’ll still be alive for advancement come Thursday, or risk being eliminated today depending upon the result of the Pliskova/Svitolina match. Kvitova holds an 8-5 edge over Wozniacki in their careers, and has won their last four meetings. That includes that most recent match in Doha earlier this year, where Petra pulled out an extremely tight encounter 7-5 in the third.
Wozniacki’s last victory came the last time these two played at the WTA Finals. That was in 2014, when Caroline won easily in straight sets. Despite Kvitova’s recent success against Wozniacki, her effort on Sunday was not a convincing one. Petra made 29 unforced errors and hit seven doubt faults in her opening round loss to Svitolina. That will be a recipe for disaster against the always-steady Wozniacki, especially on the slower-playing hard court in Singapore. Kvitova has been slumping since July, and hasn’t beaten a top 10 player since May. With all that in mind, I like Wozniacki’s chances to prevail.
Elina Svitolina vs. Karolina Pliskova
The winner here will take a commanding 2-0 lead in the white group, and put themselves in prime position to advance to the semifinals. Pliskova is a convincing 5-2 lifetime against Svitolina. However, Elina’s two victories came the last two times they met: in Rome last year, and in Brisbane earlier this year. This though will be the biggest tournament these two players have squared off in.
Both players performed well on Sunday, but Pliskova was the more impressive of the two. She was facing the more in-form player in Wozniacki, yet saved all ten break points she faced in the match. Karolina’s play has steadily improved over the past few months since she started working with her new coach, Rennae Stubbs. If Pliskova dictates play from the baseline as she’s capable of, and continues to serve well in the clutch moments, this match will be an uphill climb for Svitolina.
