SINGAPORE: Venus Williams gained revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat by Garbine Muguruza when the American advanced to the last four of the WTA Finals with a gutsy 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Spanish world number two on Thursday.

Both players knew a win would secure a passage to the semi-finals as they held identical 1-1 records in White Group play at the season-ending event but the 37-year-old was stronger on the key points and moved brilliantly around the court to progress in one hour and 41 minutes.

Muguruza had brushed aside Williams to claim her second Grand Slam title in July but any hopes she had of repeating the feat were snuffed out by a resolute opponent, who simply refused to buckle in the tense Singapore Indoor Stadium encounter.

Venus, who first reached the No 1 ranking in February 2002, was asked how she has managed to have such a long career.

“I use a lot of sun protection, sunscreen. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables,” Venus said. “That’s been the key to my success.”

Venus won the WTA Finals in 2008 and reached the final in 2009, which was the last time she appeared in the year-end tournament.

The victory enabled her to advance along with pool winner Karolina Pliskova, who won her first two matches but ended round-robin play with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat by Jelena Ostapenko earlier on Thursday.

With both players needing to win to progress, they came out looking sharp but they also struggled to hold serve and Venus broke Muguruza five times to propel her to victory. Muguruza made 32 unforced errors to 26 for Williams.

“I’m very proud of this year.” said Muguruza, who reached the No 1 ranking for the first time this season. “I knew here that it’s going to be tough, the best eight players are playing.”

OSTAPENKO VICTORIOUS

Earlier, Ostapenko ended her maiden WTA Finals campaign on a winning note with a surprisingly easy victory over a subdued Pliskova, the Latvian saving her best until last after she was eliminated earlier in the week.

World number three Pliskova won her opening two matches against Venus and Muguruza to book a semi-final berth but the Czech was out-gunned by an inspired French Open champion in 66 minutes.

Ostapenko had battled hard in her opening matches to no avail, especially in a gruelling three-set loss to Venus, but she served brilliantly against Pliskova and found the corners with her booming forehand to end her season with a win.

“Yes, I lost my earlier two matches but it’s my first time here and I am just happy to finish my season here, in the top eight, especially with a win at the end,” Ostapenko said.

Pliskova, who earned the No 1 ranking for the first time in her career after Wimbledon, remains in contention to finish the season at the top.

“Really tough to push myself into it and to play the best tennis if you know you’re qualified,” Pliskova said. “Wasn’t being ever in this situation, so I felt weird today.”

Despite the setback, Pliskova remained confident of bouncing back in her semi-final on Saturday. “I think it will now feel like a normal tournament,” she said.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2017