By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, November 6, 2015

 

Elina Svitolina will play No. 3-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the Zhuhai semifinals.

Photo credit: Christopher Levy

Elina Svitolina lost a marathon first set and was forced to play catch-up in the last set.

In the end, Svitolina showed staying power.

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With a semifinal spot on the line, the No. 8-seeded Svitolina won six of the final seven games rallying past Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-3 in Zhuhai.

"It was such a crazy match today," Svitolina told WTA Tennis.com. "I was playing really well out there, and Carla was playing really well as well. It was a marathon match and really tough obviously, but I was really happy with how I played today. This is a big win."

It was a long win, too.

A grueling two hour and 37-minute victory sealed the final spot in the tournament semifinals for the world No. 20. Svitolina will play Karolina Pliskova for a place in the final.

Pliskova, who won Group C during round-robin play, is 3-0 lifetime against Svitolina. Two of those three encounters have gone the distance, including a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 Pliskova victory in Wuhan last month.

Pushing for a year-end Top 10 ranking, Venus Williams will play Roberta Vinci in the other semifinal. Vinci upset Serena Williams in the US Open semifinals to deny her Grand Slam aspirations. Venus avenged her younger sister's loss with a gripping 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over the 32-year-old Italian in the Wuhan semifinals last month.

The top-seeded Williams can clinch a Top 10 spot by winning the title. Even if Williams loses in the semifinals, she can still secure a year-end Top 10 spot provided Pliskova, currently ranked No. 13, does not win the title.

"Winning here would be a great way to end the year. But I think that's what everyone who's still in contention is hoping for," Williams said. "I'm not going to be the only one."