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Barty faces Svitolina in decider on ‘terrible’ court

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SHENZHEN (China): World number one Ashleigh Barty overcame the hitting power of Karolina Pliskova to set up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against defending champion Elina Svitolina although the courts being used for the $14 million showpiece were blasted as “terrible”.

French Open champion Barty prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a matchup of the top two ranked players in the world.

Barty, playing in her WTA Finals debut, will look to cap off a momentous season when she played Svitolina in yesterday’s final.

The Ukrainian won her 10th straight WTA Finals match when a hobbled Belinda Bencic retired while down 5-7, 6-3, 4-1 through injury.

The Swiss struggled with cramping from late in the first set but gamely fought on before retiring hurt.

She was the third player to retire mid-match in the tournament following the withdrawals of Kiki Bertens and Bianca Andreescu.

World number three Naomi Osaka withdrew from the year-ender before her second match against Barty. – AFP

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