BNP Paribas WTA Finals, Singapore

[CR3] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs. [CR5] Petra Kvitova (CZE)

It was their first meeting and the winner would either win the group outright or at least get to the semifinals.  More was at stake for Kvitova as she needed to win to guarantee her place in the semifinals.   Therefore, it was going to be a battle, it had to be as these two great Champions each wanted to be around on Saturday to have the opportunity to play for the trophy of this prestigious event on Sunday.  It was an erratic match, with neither player playing their best tennis, perhaps hampered by niggling injuries and fatigue. It was a match dominated by fifteen breaks of serve and some inexplicable errors from both players.  The inconsistent quality of play from both players was indicative of the extreme tension felt by both, tension created by their desire to win.

Muguruza won the first set and had an early break in the second; however, things did not progress to an easy victory as Kvitova broke to retake the lead in the second set.  Yet, it was not over, neither player was serving with much conviction and more breaks were yet to come, changing the course of the match.  Kvitova finally got the last break to win the second set and force a third.  The third set was a repetition of the previous two with both players each having opportunities to win the match; yet, there could be only one winner. When it mattered most, Muguruza dug deep into her waning reserves and held serve to get the 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory.  With the defeat of Kvitova, Muguruza won the White Group 3-0 and will face Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.