First set: Ashleigh Barty 4-5* Karolina Pliskova: Barty getting some joy from the body serve and it helps her win this one to 15. When she gets the first serve in, Barty is winning 70% of points but it’s dropping to 30% on second serve. Anyway, now the focus is on her return. She has to break or Pliskova has the first set.
First set: Ashleigh Barty *3-5 Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova opens game eight with a pair of winners – a cross-court forehand and a backhand down the line – and wins it to love with a heavy serve. The easiest hold so far.
First set: Ashleigh Barty 3-4* Karolina Pliskova: Barty needs to up it a little here. Her serve is coming under constant pressure while she’s had just one break point herself. Despite a double fault on the fourth point, she sees this one out to 15. Better, but she has to come up with a break.
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First set: Ashleigh Barty *2-4 Karolina Pliskova: Quality stuff from Pliskova so far and she opens game six with her first ace of the match. The Pliskova serve is in a groove now (first serve % over 70 in this first set) although it’s her ground game which sees out the game. She holds to 15 and leads 4-2.
First set: Ashleigh Barty 2-3* Karolina Pliskova: A forehand error from Barty gives Pliskova two break points again. Barty’s serve to the body saves the first and she then has her opponent on the run to force deuce. But Pliskova forces an eighth break point and finally takes it as Barty dumps her forehand into the net.
First set: Ashleigh Barty *2-2 Karolina Pliskova: No easy service games here as Pliskova snatches at game point and drives into the net. Another unforced error at deuce gives Barty her first break point although the No. 1’s cross-court backhand goes wide. Pliskova’s thumping forehand winner followed by a heavy serve levels it up at 2-2.
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First set: Ashleigh Barty 2-1* Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova replying to Barty’s low slice in kind and it’s working. This time the Czech forces two break points with a thunderous forehand which just clips the line to make it 15-40 but the dogged Barty forces deuce. Pliskova has a fifth break point but once more Barty sees her off. Still going with serve, just!
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First set: Ashleigh Barty *1-1 Karolina Pliskova: Double fault from Pliskova on the second point of the match puts her 0-30 down and in danger of being broken but the Czech wins the next four points, seeing out the game with a serve-and-volley winner.
First set: Ashleigh Barty 1-0* Karolina Pliskova: Barty just coughing a little in the warm-up. Hopefully nothing in that. Well, what an opening game this is! Pliskova gets to break point three times as she deals with the Barty slice and forces her opponent into errors. But Barty holds firm to come through it. Has the tone been set?
Here come the two players to loud cheers from probably the noisiest crowd of the week. Getting ready for the coin toss. Pliskova will receive first.
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Preamble
We already have our first finalist in China after defending champion Elina Svitolina came through against Belinda Bencic after the Swiss was forced to retire with a foot injury in the third set. Red Group winner, Ashleigh Barty, has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking but she’ll want to justify that status by reaching and winning the final. Barty leads semi-final opponent Karolina Pliskova 3-2 on the head-to-heads after nudging in front with victory in their only 2019 meeting, the final of the Premier Mandatory tournament in Miami.
The ultra-consistent Pliskova has made at least the last eight of every WTA event she’s contested this year and booked her place in the last four with a battling 6-0 2-6 6-4 win over Simona Halep on Friday to secure second place in the Purple Group. Barty is a narrow favourite to prevail but this is definitely a hard one to call. And after a series of withdrawals due to injury this week, let’s just hope both players make it through the match unscathed!
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