Garcia finds rhythm in the clutch moment
French debutant beats Wozniacki to reach semis
>> SINGAPORE: Caroline Garcia produced a stunning comeback to grind down in-form Caroline Wozniacki 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 for her second Red Group win and a place in the semi-finals of the season-ending WTA Finals.
Romanian world No.1 Simona Halep, who needed to beat the already-eliminated Elina Svitolina to advance, lost to the Ukrainian 6-3, 6-4 in the second match at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Denmark’s world No.6 Wozniacki, who reached the final here in 2010, was assured of a semi-final berth after easily winning her opening two matches.
French No.8 Garcia was just two points from elimination in the 10th game of the third set but dug deep and claimed a break.
She then won the next two games to win in two hours and 19 minutes.
“She was playing amazing in the first set, I was a little down,” Garcia said after the match. “Finally I found my rhythm but like the previous match it was up and down but I finished well.”
Wozniacki seemed headed for a third straight crushing victory after dominating in the early stages through controlled aggression off the baseline, precise counter-punching and clutch serving.
The 27-year-old had j ust one unforced error in an almost flawless first set lasting just 22 minutes.
But the match took an unexpected turn early in the second set when the Dane had a time violation and argued with the umpire during the third game.
Garcia capitalised and won four straight games en route to levelling the match before outlasting Wozniacki in a tense third set.
It was Frenchwoman’s first victory from three attempts against Wozniacki in the pair’s first clash since 2015.
In a late season charge, Garcia won back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing to secure her first trip to the season finale in Singapore.
World No.3 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic won the White Group, with No.5 Venus Williams joining her in the semi-finals as runnerup after the American veteran edged out No.2 Garbine Muguruza of Spain on Thursday.
FEDERER IN BASEL QUARTERS
Roger Federer reached the Basel quarter-finals for the 15th time on Thursday when he steamrolled Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3 as the top seed stepped up his campaign for an eighth Swiss Indoors title.
Federer defeated Paire for the fifth time without a loss, mowing down the challenger in just 57 minutes in front of a sympathetic audience at the St Jakobshalle.
The 36-year-old Federer, winner of his last event in Shanghai this month, is seeking an ATP-leading seventh trophy this season as he aims for the weekend final in his hometown.
Federer will next face French seventh seed Adrian Mannarino, who beat promising Canadian Denis Shapovalov 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Defending champion Marin Cilic beat Croatian compatriot Borna Coric 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a two-hour struggle to move to 5-0 against his younger countryman.
Fourth seed Juan Martin Del Potro edged closer to a spot at next month’s ATP Finals as he dispatched French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-4.
Del Potro won the Basel title in 2012 and 2013, beating Federer in both of those finals.
Elsewhere in the second round, Hungarian Marton Fucsovics advanced to the last eight as Argentine Leonardo Mayer quit when trailing 3-0 in the first set.