By Tennis Now | Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Anett Kontaveit was a Rose Group thorn for defending champion Julia Goerges.
Kontaveit kept her WTA Elite Trophy hopes alive surprising Goerges, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in Zhuhai today.
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Kontaveit, who fell to Elise Mertens in her opener, faced elimination from theRose Group of the round-robin event if she fell to Goerges today.
"I played a great set in the first; I started well and I was playing quite consistent," Kontaveit told WTA Tennis.com afterward.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys navigated their openers in disparate fashion.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza rallied past Zhang Shuai, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Zhang saved a pair of break points bursting out to a 4-1 first-set lead. The Chinese wild card served out the opening set smoothly, eliciting roars from the home crowd.
Shrugging it off, Muguruza converted her eighth break point earning her first break of the match for a 4-2 second-set lead. The 2017 Wimbledon champion made the break stand forcing a final set.
A topsy-turvy final set saw nerves and serves frayed with five straight service breaks.
Muguruza seized a 4-2 lead and served out a gripping two hour, three-minute victory.
The 23-year-old Keys knocked off Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 6-4.
Keys broke Kasatkina's serve six times the day after the Moscow champion conquered China’s Wang Qiang, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in her WTA Elite Trophy opener.
Kasatkina is ranked just 130 points ahead of Anastasija Sevastova and 170 points ahead of Aryna Sabalenka as she plays to retain her newly-acquired Top 10-ranking.
Keys can win the Azalea Group and advance to the semifinals by beating Wang Qiang on Friday.
Keys cracked five aces in a 69-minute triumph—her fourth in as many meetings vs. the Russian No. 1.
"I think I had a really good start today and that definitely helped me," Keys told WTA Tennis.com. "Even a pretty good start in the second set. I think I served well. I think there was a little bit of a lull in the second set, but overall I was happy with that.
"I think I returned really well, which is something I've been focusing on. Overall, I think I played really solid and went out and did what I needed to do." The top four group winners at the 12-player field will advance to the semifinals.