Alternate stuns top seed Barty at WTA Finals

Last-minute alternate Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands rallied to defeat No. 1 seed Ashleigh Barty for the first time in six tries Tuesday at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen in China.

Bertens, who replaced the injured Naomi Osaka in the Red Group, came from a set and a break down to beat the top-ranked Australian 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours nine minutes.

Bertens, who said she was “sitting on the couch” when she learned she was playing, experienced a little rust in the first set as she tallied 14 unforced errors and just seven winners.

Barty stumbled in the second set, committing 15 unforced errors while landing only 41 per cent of her first serves. Bertens took advantage, winning eight consecutive games and breaking Barty four straight times in the final two sets.

“As the match was continuing, I felt better and better,” Bertens said. “The movement was getting a bit better. I was starting to feel the court. I could play a bit more aggressive, come to the net.”

In Tuesday’s other Red Group match, No. 7 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland outlasted Czech No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

Bencic finished with 19 winners and 27 unforced errors, compared to 28 winners and 39 unforced errors for Kvitova. Kvitova’s eight aces were offset by 10 double faults, including five in the deciding set.

With Bencic avoiding elimination, all four members of the Red Group still have a shot at qualifying for the semifinals.

Round-robin play continues Wednesday in the Purple Group with No. 2 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic meeting No. 4 Bianca Andreescu of Canada, while No. 5 seed Simona Halep of Romania plays No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

The 19-year-old Andreescu won her only previous meeting with Pliskova.