Wozniacki batters Muguruza to reach fourth Pan Pacific final in Tokyo

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki flattened world number one Garbine Muguruza 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday to reach her fourth Pan Pacific Open final.

The Danish former number one will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as she chases a third Tokyo title after the Russian toppled Angelique Kerber 6-0, 6-7, 6-4 in a see-saw first semi-final.

Top seed Muguruza, playing her first tournament since reaching the top of the women’s world rankings, was blown off court in just under an hour in a stunningly lopsided match.

“I didn’t feel that fresh,” the Spaniard told reporters. “It was always going to be a battle but I felt my energy was a little bit low,” added Muguruza. “I was struggling a bit in the long rallies and didn’t make the important shots. I’m very disappointed, but she just played better.”

Third seed Wozniacki tore through the first set, sealing it when Muguruza wafted a routine forehand badly wide. Muguruza cut a forlorn figure as she trudged back to her seat but things went from bad to worse for the Wimbledon champion in the second set.

A dipping forehand pass gave Wozniacki an early break, consolidated after another wild Muguruza backhand in the fourth game. Wozniacki, a twotime Tokyo winner and finalist in 2014, put Muguruza out of her misery by forcing the Spaniard into another whiffed backhand on match point after just 59 minutes. “Obviously you don’t go on court thinking that’s going to be the scoreline,” said Wozniacki. “But I just kept my head down and stayed aggressive.”

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