Radwanska to face Pliskova in Tianjin

Agnieszka Radwanska and Danka Kovinic will contest Sunday’s Tianjin Open final after winning their respective semi-finals on Saturday. Had Williams been playing Moscow, she would have still had a chance but given that she’s not playing the Kremlin Cup, the season has effectively ended for Williams, who was ranked ahead of Carla Suarez Navarro.

She will play Danka Kovinic in the final after the Montenegrin beat Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-2. Having both had up-and-down years, there was a lot of anticipation surrounding this encounter.

Second seed Radwanska won 7-6, 6-2 in an hour and a half, while third seed Pliskova beat Hungary’s Timea Babos 6-3, 6-2.

But Radwanska would take the next two points to clinch the first set and break immediately in the second set.

Radwanska, the world number six, will be assured of a place at the WTA Finals if she can take the title.

The win is Radwanska’s fifth in five previous battles with the Czech, and she’s never dropped a set or even been forced to a tiebreaker against Pliskova.

After being on the brink of losing in the opening round to Kristina Kucova, Pliskova’s level has risen considerably and at just the right time, considering she is still fighting for a place in the WTA Finals Singapore presented by South Carolina Global.

The WTA Finals begin in Singapore on October 25.