Zhuhai: Goerges completes semifinal line-up

Julia Goerges needed to win only a set to advance to the WTA Elite Trophy semifinals in Zhuhai.

And thanks to her 6-2 7-6(4) victory over Kristina Mladenovic, she ensured her place in the last four alongside Anastasija Sevastova, Ash Barty and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Goerges will take on Sevastova in the first semifinal on Saturday before Barty and Vandeweghe clash in the second.

Meanwhile, it was a 12th straight loss to end the season on a low note for Mladenovic, who began the first half so promisingly with four tournament finals and a high position in the WTA Race to Singapore.

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“I really wanted to win that match. It didn’t matter if I had to win one set, but I don’t want to go out with losing the match and still being in the semifinals. I think that’s a bit weird,” said Goerges, the recent champion in Moscow.

“For sure it does help you to know you have won some matches in the past and you have done probably the right things to win those matches, but everything starts from zero.

“Tomorrow (against Sevastova) is another tough challenge. I will just try to focus on that and not really if it’s two sets, three sets, or whatever it will be. It’s going to be a very tough match, I think. We know each other for a very long time and have a lot of respect for each other.”

In other results on Friday, US Open champion Sloane Stephen’s WTA season came to an end when she was forced to retire from her round-robin match against Barbora Strycova with a left-knee injury.

Elena Vesnina also succumbed to injury; hampered in her earlier loss to Vandeweghe, she pulled the pin due to the same back injury when trailing Peng Shuai 6-2 1-0.