|
 Canadian Bouchard will get the chance to avenge her crushing
defeat by Kvitova in the Wimbledon final after she dispatched U.S.
Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-3.
Czech Kvitova beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-3 7-5.
Whoever wins Saturday's final will seal a place in the season-ending
WTA Finals in Singapore next month.
Sixth seed Bouchard blasted 28 winners to overwhelm the resistance
of Wozniacki who did not play badly.
"I think I played very aggressively, and it was all about trying to
maintain it," Bouchard said.
"Of course I expected some resistance, and she definitely made me
fight for every point, but I was happy with the way I was serving
and stepping in and the way I kind of regathered by concentration."
Kvitova had lost her only previous meeting with Svitolina but was
always the dominant player this time, winning the first set with
ease and edging the second after surrendering an early break of
service to the world number 34.
Organizers will be breathing a sigh of relief that they will at
least have a marquee final.
"It's going to be nice to play Genie in the final, so we can have a
repeat match of the final at Wimbledon," Kvitova, who won the
Wimbledon final for the loss of only three games, said.
"She's a very good mover and plays very aggressively from the
baseline - she takes the balls very early and returns very well.
Those are some of the things she does great."
After local heroine Li Na announced her retirement from the sport on
the eve of the tournament, world number one Serena Williams withdrew
through illness and Maria Sharapova was bundled out by Swiss
qualifier Timea Bacsinszky.
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Former world number one Victoria Azarenka also withdrew before the
tournament started while second seed Simona Halep lost in the second
round and Jelena Jankovic retired with a back injury.
With Li standing seventh in the Singapore race despite her
retirement, Wozniacki currently occupies the final qualification
place for the season finale.
WTA Road to Singapore standings (*top eight qualify after taking
China's Li out of equation)
1. Serena Williams 6931 (qualified)
2. Maria Sharapova 5575 (qualified)
3. Simona Halep 5189 (qualified)
4. Agnieszka Radwanska 4377
5. Ana Ivanovic 4060
6. Petra Kvitova 4049
7. Li Na 3970 (retired) *
8. Eugenie Bouchard 3901
9. Caroline Wozniacki 3795
10. Angelique Kerber 3370
11. Dominika Cibulkova 2909
12. Ekaterina Makarova 2900
(Reporting by Martyn Herman,; Editing by Ossian Shine and Pritha
Sarkar)
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