Defending champion Elina Svitolina qualified for the semifinals of the season-ending WTA Finals by beating Simona Halep 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Svitolina, the only competitor in the eight-player field not to win a title this season, last won a tournament at last year’s WTA Finals.
The Ukrainian is 2-0 in the Purple Group, winning both matches in straight sets. Halep is 1-1 after saving a match point in her three-set victory over Bianca Andreescu.
Svitolina broke Halep in the final game of the first set to take the lead. She then broke the Romanian’s serve in the eighth game of the second set and held to win.
The victory was Svitolina’s fifth in nine matches against Halep. On the four previous occasions in which she won, Svitolina went on to win the tournament.
Halep, who won the Wimbledon title in July, still remains in contention for a semifinal spot.
In the late match, Karolina Pliskova was to play Andreescu.
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