By Chris Oddo | Saturday October 17, 2015
Agnieszka Radwanska eased past Karolina Pliskova for the fifth consecutive time, winning 6-3, 6-1 to reach the Tianjin final.
Photo Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty
Agnieszka Radwanska continued her post-U.S. Open surge and her domination over Karolina Pliskova on Saturday in Tianjin with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Karolina Pliskova.
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The win is Radwanska’s fifth in five previous battles with the Czech, and she’s never dropped a set or even been forced to a tiebreaker against Pliskova.
With the victory, the Pole moves just one match win from qualifying for this year’s WTA Finals in Singapore.
Radwanska made a single break count in the opening set, but it was not easy. She had to save a break point while serving for the set at 5-3 (she saved both break points she faced in the match), then saw Pliskova save a set point with a rocket forehand return off a second serve.
But Radwanska would take the next two points to clinch the first set and break immediately in the second set.
The 26-year-old’s good fortunes would continue as she broke again for 3-0 and consolidated her double-break lead for 4-0 in set two.
After a Pliskova hold, Radwanska took the final two games, closing the match with two vintage, dazzling net points to set up a final with Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Kovinic reached her first career final by taking the first semifinal of the day in Tianjin, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2, over Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski.
Kovinic, who reached her first career quarterfinal at Charleston this year after defeating Belinda Bencic and Jelena Jankovic, had never even reached a WTA semifinal before.