Svitolina rallies to top Muchova, boost WTA Finals bid

Detailed summary

Elina Svitolina roared back from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday to boost her bid to advance to the WTA Finals semi-finals at Indian Wells.…

French Open champion Mirra Andreeva stormed past Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 to reach the last four of the WTA Finals on Wednesday as Elina Svitolina kept her bid on track with a three-set win over Karolina Muchova.

Russian 19-year-old Andreeva held her nerve after falling behind 4-1 in the opening set -- winning the last 11 games to seal the round-robin victory in just 62 minutes.

"Oh my God, I'm even happier than I was after my first match," Andreeva said. "I feel like I can play another two matches, I'm so full of energy. I'm so pumped up. I'm so happy."

Andreeva, whose three titles this year include her maiden major at Roland Garros, is making her singles debut in the elite season-ending event.

The world number three seemed to be feeling the nerves in the early going against second-ranked Sabalenka.

Irked that she had given up a break with a double fault, she was able to flip the switch, dealing handily with Sabalenka's big serves and pushing the Belarusian star back with her own big groundstrokes.

Andreeva crucially kept momentum on her side with a break for a 3-0 lead in the second set.

Sabalenka, trailing 0-40, saved three break points, but Andreeva gave herself another with a swinging volley winner and grabbed another break when a Sabalenka forehand flew just long.

The increasingly demoralized Sabalenka had no answer. After the Belarusian smacked a backhand into the net to give her opponent match point Andreeva polished things off with a service winner.

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