By Adrianna Outlaw | Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova held off Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Photo credit: WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai
Angelique Kerber applied her relentless court coverage to push the match to three sets.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova relied on her closing power to beat the former No. 1 for the third time in a row.
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Pavlyuchenkova pounded out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory in her Rose Group opener of the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai round-robin tournament.
The match was a rematch of the Tokyo semifinals, which Pavlyuchenkova won 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-4.
Pavlyuchenkova, who also scored a three-set win over Kerber in the Monterrey final earlier this season, has won six of 11 meetings with the two-time Grand Slam champion.
The 14th-ranked Russian has won six of her last seven matches, including her third title of the season in Hong Kong.
CoCo Vandeweghe’s best tennis eluded her, but victory did not.
In her first meeting with Chinese wild card Peng Shuai, the US Open semifinalist rallies for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
The second-seeded Vandeweghe hit six aces against five double faults in a one hour, 55-minute victory. It was Vandeweghe’s second victory in five tournament appearances in China.
"Today was a survive-and-conquer kind of day,” Vandeweghe told WTA Tour.com. “I really was playing not so well, very below average for the standard that I'm used to playing and competing at.
"I think it was just a matter of focusing on the next point at hand and just moving forward. It's a tough part of the year and it's a tough event. I just kept competing and fighting."
The 12th-ranked American has her sights set on a Top 10 spot.
Moscow champion Julia Goerges delivered a strong serving performance to win her opener.
The seventh-seeded Goerges did not drop serve defeating Magdalena Rybarikova, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Quick off the mark, Goerges used her forehand to overpowering effect at atimes.
Fresh off her first WTA title in six years, Goerges extended her winning streak to six matches.