Can Krejcikova hold off Gauff to lock up the semis?

On By Littum

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — On Thursday at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek will play for the other semifinal spot — but not against each other.

After a sparkling victory over Swiatek, Coco Gauff has already moved on. American Jessica Pegula, sidelined by a left knee injury, was forced to withdraw on Wednesday night, bringing in Daria Kasatkina as a late replacement.

Before Pegula’s withdrawal, Swiatek had only one path to the semifinals. She needed to win while Gauff beats Krejcikova.

However, with Pegula’s withdrawal, Swiatek’s match against Kasatkina is essentially irrelevant for qualifying purposes.

The semifinal scenario is this: If Gauff wins, she and Swiatek advance to the semifinals; if Krejcikova defeats Gauff, Krejcikova and Gauff advance.

(Note: This post has been updated following Jessica Pegula’s retraction.)

It has been a turbulent few months for Swiatek. After losing to Pegula in the quarterfinals of the US Open, she changed coaches and sat out the Asian swing. Here in Riyadh, she came back from a set and two breaks before beating Krejcikova. Her straight-sets loss to Gauff confirmed that she was, at least mentally, not in fighting shape. Her frustration was evident from the start.

“I had to kind of keep my head on a leash and control it the whole time,” Swiatek told reporters. “So I didn’t have that, tight moments, for two months. So I kind of forgot what it’s like and how much energy it takes.

“It’s a reminder that nothing comes for free. You always seem to work 100 percent, because in tennis, momentum can change pretty quickly. You have to be consistent throughout the match, basically, to win.”

Day 6 schedule

13.00 local time

(2) G. Dabrowski (CAN) / E. Routliffe (NZL) vs (5) C. Dolehide (USA) / D. Krawczyk (USA)

Not before 3:30 p.m

(2) I. Swiatek (POL) vs (6) D. Kasatkina

Not before

(3) C. Gauff (USA) vs (8) B. Krejcikova (CZE)

Followed by

(4) S. Errani (ITA) / J. Paolini (ITA) vs (7) H.-C. Chan (TPE) / V. Kudermetova

Combat division

No. 2 Iga Swiatek (1-1) vs. (ALL) D. Kasatkina

Head-to-head: 5-1, Swiatek

Last match: Swiatek defeated Kasatkina 6-2, 6-3 at 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth

Swiatek was due to face Pegula before the five-time major champion pulled out, setting up a potentially tougher test against a fresher Kasatkina, who is currently ranked No.9 in the world.

Kasatkina won their first career meeting in Eastbourne in 2021, but Swiatek has won their last five meetings, four of which were on hard courts – including a decisive victory in Fort Worth two years ago.

Kasatkina has a 40-22 record for the season, with her most recent match ending in a quarterfinal loss to Sofia Kenin in Tokyo. However, she has had a solid autumn stretch, highlighted by a three-set victory in the Ningbo final – her second title of the year.

On the other hand, Swiatek has lost four straight matches against Top 10 players this year – Zheng Qinwen (Paris Olympics), Aryna Sabalenka (Cincinnati), Pegula (US Open) and Gauff (WTA Finals) – the longest streak of such her career.

No. 3 Coco Gauff (2-0) vs. No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova (1-1)

Head-to-head: 1-0, Krejcikova. Their only previous match was a barnburner at the 2021 French Open.

Krejcikova saved five set points in the first set and beat a 17-year-old Gauff 7-6 (6), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. In just her fifth appearance in a major singles draw, Krejcikova won her first Grand Slam singles title, beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a three-set final.

That Krejcikova herself is in this position defies imagination.

No player this century has advanced to the WTA Finals with fewer than 30 match wins. Krejcikova, plagued by injuries, has only played 31 games this year.

What would it mean to reach the last four of the year-end tournament after such a difficult season?

“It would definitely be great to come through and keep playing more matches,” Krejcikova said. “So I will do everything in the fight to get there.”

She went all out against Pegula, hitting 11 aces and breaking her four times.

Gauff had lost 11 of 12 matches to Swiatek before breaking through with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Perhaps coincidentally (maybe not), Gauff has now won 11 of his last 12 fights.

She has been working on her serve and against Swiatek it was tough.

“I’m in the process of changing things, so it’s up and down, and I feel like it’s in the right direction,” Gauff said. “The first set, no break points, which I don’t even know if that’s ever happened (to Gauff) against her.

“First WTA final (Fort Worth, 2022) I was 0-3, and now with 2-0 it’s pretty cool. Hopefully I can win three more games and finish the season.”