Svitolina close to defeat when rain hits Hong Kong

Top seed Elina Svitolina was close to bowing out of the Hong Kong Open when rain disrupted her quarterfinal match.

Sixth seed Wang Qiang of China was leading Svitolina 6-2 5-2 and serving at 15-30, when their match on Friday was suspended until Saturday.

Svitolina started the week as one of five players still in contention to earn a place in the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore.

Even if she ends up losing the quarterfinal to Wang, she could still possibly land a berth in the WTA Finals.

An absoutely outstanding point from Wang Qiang! #PHKTO2018 pic.twitter.com/Eaof4Mk3Wm

— WTA (@WTA) October 12, 2018

In order to do that, she would need to play the Moscow tournament next week. She’s currently not entered, but could request a main-draw wildcard.

Fourth seed Garbine Muguruza made her first semifinal since the French Open in June by beating Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum 6-2 7-5.

Muguruza has played seven tournaments since the French Open and this marks the first time she’s strung together three match wins. She’s hasn’t dropped a set this week en route to the semifinals.

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Meanwhile, Australian seventh seed Daria Gavrilova was not to so fortunate in Hong Kong on Friday.

She was bundled out in straight sets by unseeded Chinese opponent Zhang Shuai 6-1 6-3 in a lopsided centre court encounter.

Gavrilova was unable to establish a rhythm from the outset and offered little resistance as Zhang closed out a straightforward victory.

She fired down five aces, converted six break points and reeled off seven straight games to end the 24-year-old world No.34’s title hopes.

Zhang will next play 18-year-old Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, who got past Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova 7-6(6) 6-2.