Petra Kvitova: Beat Elina Svitolna to reach the final in Wuhan
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova overpowered Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-5 to reach the final of the inaugural Wuhan Open in China and move a step closer to a place in the season-ending WTA championships in Singapore.
The world No 3 broke to go up 6-5 in the second set, but wasted two match points with errors in the next game, and then double-faulted to give feisty Ukrainian Svitolina break point.
Svitolina, who upset German seventh seed Angelique Kerber to reach the semi-finals, couldn't convert, however, and Kvitova closed out the match on her third attempt.
Kvitova avenged a defeat to Svitolina in their only previous meeting in Cincinnati in August, several weeks after she captured her second title at the All England Club.
'From the beginning my season was really tough,' Kvitova told the official WTA site. 'If somebody told me at the Australian Open that I would win Wimbledon and still be fighting for Singapore, I'm not sure I would have believed them.
'But I've had a great second part of the season. It all started a little bit at the French Open, and from there I just kept improving. I think early on I was expecting too much of myself, and it was really difficult to take the loss in my first round in Australia, but I kept working hard and now I'm here.'
The big-hitting Czech could now face a rematch of the Wimbledon final in Wuhan with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in action against US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki in the second semi-final.
The 24-year-old Kvitova will join the top eight players for the Singapore finale if she claims victory in the climax of the tournament on Saturday, where she will be aiming to win her 14th WTA career title.
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