Kerber, Cibulkova reach semi-finals of WTA

TIL Desk Sports/ Germany’s Angelique Kerber continued her unbeaten run at the WTA Finals on Thursday, steamrolling rising American Madison Keys 6-3 6-3 to charge into the semi-finals of the season-ending championship. Still on a high after winning the US Open last month, the newly crowned world number one made it three wins on the trot at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium to finish at the top of the Red Group standings after the round-robin phase.

“It’s a great feeling because it’s the first time I’m in the semis at the WTA Finals. That was my first goal,” Kerber said. “It was important to go out there to win the match and win all three matches, that gives me a lot more confidence.” Kerber was joined in the semis by Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova, who claimed her first victory of the tournament by defeating Simona Halep of Romania 6-3 7-6 (7-5), to finish as the group runner-up.

Beaten in her first two matches, the 27-year-old Cibulkova needed to see off Halep in straight sets then rely on Kerber defeating Keys in straight sets to advance, but scraped through when everything she needed went to plan. “This win is really, really big for me,” Cibulkova said. “I feel relieved. I’m really happy about my win, about the way I played and the way I handled the situation and the pressure.