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Defending champion and current World No.8 Elina Svitolina will take on Simona Halep on the fourth day of the WTA Finals 2019 in Shenzhen today while in the second singles match as part of the Purple Group, Karolina Pliskova will face Bianca Andreescu.
Elina Svitolina vs Simona Halep Preview
Svitolina is currently perched on top of the Purple Group's standings, owing to her straight-sets win over Karolina Pliskova in the first match. She put on a strong display of tennis, which was added with attacks on any of the weak deliveries by Pliskova.
Her 7-2 win/loss record at the WTA Finals is what makes her a tough candidate to face at the year-end championships. The Ukrainian will be through to the next round if she wins her match today.
Her opponent, this year's Wimbledon champion, Simona Halep also started the WTA Finals with a win over this year's youngest contestant and the US Open winner, Bianca Andreescu. However, Halep had to fight for her win after she dropped the first set and made a gritty comeback to win the next two that brought about a win.
While Halep and Svitolina are tied with four wins against each other, the Romanian has registered a win from their last two encounters, both coming in 2019. It will be interesting to see if Halep's stellar defence will be able to tackle the consistency of Svitolina.
Karolina Pliskova vs Bianca Andreescu Preview
After losing their opening matches, Karolina Pliskova and Bianca Andreescu will play their second match against each other. Looking for a win to stay in the title hunt, both the players will try to put out their best performances on the court. A loss will only mean to elimination from the tournament.
In the first match of the group, Karolina was defeated in straight sets by Elina Svitoina. However, the Czech had some positives from the match. Her long fight in the first set made it hard for Svitolina to take the game away from her, and she will look to capitalise on her big serves and take the game in aces.
Andreescu gave a tough fight to Halep in the first match, with a total of 75% breakpoints won on return. She also held a match point on the Romanian but could not turn that into a win. Another concern for the Canadian could be her back pain, which she complained about in the press conference after her match with Halep.
With a strong record over the top 10 players this year, Bianca could very well give a tough competition to her 27-year old opponent. In their previous and only meet at the 2019 Canadian Open, Bianca registered a 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 win.
Winning Scenarios for today
- If Svitolina and Pliskova win their respective matches, Svitolina will move to the next round while Pliskova will play Halep for the second spot from the group. Bianca will be eliminated.
- If Halep and Andreescu win their respective matches, Halep will move to the next round while Andreescu and Svitolina will play for the second spot from the group. Pliskova will be eliminated.
- A straight-sets win for Svitolina will mean she will qualify automatically.
2019 WTA Finals Schedule Day 4, (30th October)
Tournament name: 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen
Location: China
Category: Year-ending championships
Match 1: Elina Svitolina vs Simona Halep (Approx 4 PM IST)
Match 2: Karolina Pliskova vs Bianca Andreescu (Approx 5:30 PM IST)
Broadcast: No live telecast in India
Live score: wtafinals.com
You can follow all the coverage of the WTA Finals 2019 here on Sportskeeda.
