(Reuters) – Estonian Anett Kontaveit handed Czech Karolina Pliskova a 6-4 6-0 drubbing to become the first player to qualify for the semi-finals at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara on Friday.
The number eight seed dominated the round-robin stage match and closed out the opener with a drop shot to break Pliskova’s serve, having saved three break points in the third game.
The third-seeded Czech could not get a foothold in the second set as Kontaveit dropped only one first-serve point, while Pliskova struggled with her second serve.
It was Kontaveit’s first win in four meetings with Pliskova.
The WTA Finals divides the players into two groups of four, with each player competing in three matches. The top two from each group advance to the semi-finals.
Kontaveit beat world number three and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova on Wednesday and is now guaranteed to finish in the top two in the group.
She came into the match on a career-best 11-match winning streak, having won the Transylvania Open and Kremlin Cup while reaching the quarter-finals at Indian Wells last month.
The Estonian has 28 wins in her last 30 matches.
The evening session will see Czech second-seed Krejcikova take on Spanish sixth-seed Garbine Muguruza.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
