Defending champion Elina Svitolina earned her second Top 5 victory this week by beating Simona Halep 7-5 6-3 in the Purple Group on Day 4 of the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, thus ensuring a berth in the semifinals of the season-ending event.
The eighth-seeded Svitolina opened the match with a 3-0 lead, without losing a single point in any of her first two service games, helped by Halep’s seven unforced errors. The Ukrainian’s dominance didn’t last long, as Halep broke at love in the fifth game and the match seemed to be progressing into a tiebreak.