Kontaveit wins to advance from group at WTA Finals

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Anett Kontaveit stretched her winning streak to 12 matches by beating Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-0 on Friday to secure a spot in the semifinals at the WTA Finals.

The 25-year-old Estonian now has 28 of her last 30 matches, including her title run at Ostrava.

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 although first place in her round-robing group was still up for grabs.

Barbora Krejcikova was playing Garbiñe Muguruza in the late match. The third-seeded Pliskova is 1-1 in the tournament but still has a chance of advancing.

Kontaveit only edged out Ons Jabeur for the last spot in the season-ending championship by beating Simona Halep in the final of the Transylvania Open last month.

The tournament, which was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, features a round-robin group stage before the semifinals.

The WTA Finals are being played in Guadalajara for this year only, with the event scheduled to return to Shenzhen, China in 2022.

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