By Chris Oddo | Friday October 26, 2018
Sloane Stephens and Kiki Bertens joined Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina in the semifinals at the WTA Finals in Singapore, as both came through their final Red Group tussles on Friday at Singapore Sports Hub.
Bertens moved through when Japan’s Naomi Osaka was forced to retired with a hamstring injury after dropping the first set to the Dutchwoman 6-3. The victory marks Berten’s 12th Top 10 victory over the season, which is second-most on the WTA Tour in the last five seasons.
The 26-year-old is the first Dutchwoman to reach the semis at the WTA finals since 1995.
"I think it's just like proof to myself that I can beat anyone. I think that's a really nice feeling," Bertens said. "I think before I really [felt] like, 'Oh, those are great players, and I can never beat them.' Now, I'm still thinking those are great players but I have beaten them before, so I can do it, so hopefully I can do it again today. I think it helped me a lot with the confidence."
Bertens will square off with White Group winner Elina Svitolina in Saturday’s first semifinal at Singapore.
Osaka finishes on a low note, having lost her last four matches, but her confidence will likely remain high given that she’s just finished a season that saw her win Indian Wells and her first major title at the U.S. Open.
“It's just been a lot of new experiences,” she told David Kane, WTA Insider. “I'm very grateful that I was able to have the opportunities that I had. I feel like I have matured. I hope I can say that.”
Sloane Stephens, also making her Singapore debut, rolled past Angelique Kerber for the fifth straight time on Friday to book her place as the Red Group winner. The American has now won ten consecutive sets against Kerber after her 6-3, 6-3 triumph.
Stephens, undefeated in Singapore thus far, previously won three-setters against Naomi Osaka on Monday and Kiki Bertens on Wednesday.
The American, who became the first debutante to win all three of her round robin matches at Singapore since 2015, is the 21st player in WTA Finals history to reach the semis undefeated. She will face off with Karolina Pliskova in Saturday’s second semifinal.
Stephens owns a 1-2 lifetime record against Pliskova but lost their only meeting in 2018 in straight sets in Madrid.
The four semifinalists make up the bottom four seeds at the WTA Finals—for the first time since the current round robin format began in 2003, none of the top four seeds have reached the semis. Also of note is the fact that none of this year’s Grand Slam champions reached the semis at Singapore. Roland Garros champion Simona Halep pulled out due to injury, while Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber and Osaka all were eliminated.
Bertens and Svitolina have split their previous two matches with Bertens defeating the Ukrainian in their most recent meeting at Cincinnati this summer.