WTA Finals: Anett Kontaveit enters semis after crushing Pliskova

Anett Kontaveit on Friday defeated the number three seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-0 at the WTA Finals to reach the semis in Guadalajara.

Kontaveit became the first player in the eight-player field to qualify for the semifinals with her straight-sets victory. She is guaranteed to finish in the top two of the Teotihuacan round-robin group.

This 12th straight win of the Estonian. The number eight seed took only 57 minutes to collect her second win of the week and seal a spot in the last four, in her WTA Finals debut. Kontaveit won 24 of her 29 first-service points (83 per cent) and fired six aces to storm to victory.

"Of course, very thrilled to be in the semifinals," Kontaveit said in her post-match press conference, as per wtatennis.com. "I thought I played a very good match. I think it was very important for me to be as consistent as possible. Took some time to get used to her serves. I felt like my game was getting better and better as the match went on."

"I think I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was 3-0 down in previous matches [against Pliskova]. I think every time you step on the court, you have a new opportunity. The previous matches don't really matter. It's a new day and you have to beat the player you're playing against. That's how I approach the match," she added.

( With inputs from ANI )