The last edition of the WTA Finals in Singapore is certainly living up to the expectations. On Day 2, tennis fans were left spellbound by the fighting spirit and tenacity of four of the season's best eight women as Kiki Bertens upset Angelique Kerber and Sloane Stephens edged Naomi Osaka, both in three sets. Now the attention turns to the White Group once more as the second round of matches begin in that group on Tuesday. The outcome in the first round of matches in White Group all went against prediction as Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova emerged winners over former champions Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki respectively. Interestingly, Day 3 pits the winners of Day 1 against each other and the losers too face each other. The first match will see two Grand Slam champions battling it out. Both Kvitova and Wozniacki will be keen to get their first win of the tournament. Getting it done in straight sets will also boost their own chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. The Czech southpaw has the upper hand in this rivalry and leads it 8-5, having won their last four meetings, which also includes an epic three-set win over the Dane in their last showdown in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open this year. With five titles this season, Kvitova has certainly done better than anybody else on the Tour, but her performances in the fall have been anything but noteworthy. In contrast, Wozniacki seems to have got back on track with a title in Beijing after showing some inconsistency previously in the year. Could that inspire the Dane to stop her losing streak to the two-time Wimbledon champion? That certainly remains to be seen. In the second match of the day, Pliskova takes on Svitolina, a player she leads 4-2. Despite the Czech's apparent ease in dealing with the Ukrainian, here's a caveat. She has lost her last two matches to Svitolina, with their most recent clash being this year in the semi-finals at Brisbane. Svitolina has certainly figured out how to stop Pliskova from dominating their matches, just as she showed on Sunday that she has worked out a way to beat Kvitova, irrespective of the fact that she had lost seven out of their eight matches earlier. And that could be the key. Svitolina is determined to justify her place in the best-eight and admitted that her big win over Kvitova was one to silence her 'haters'. With so much confidence from that resounding win, she might just manage to notch up yet another victory in Singapore, although Pliskova's gigantic serve could have a say in this face-off. Here is the schedule for October 23, 2018: (2) Caroline Wozniacki vs (4) Petra Kvitova at 7.30pm local time/5pm IST followed by (6) Elina Svitolina vs (7) Karolina Pliskova Here is all you need to know about how to follow the WTA Finals 2018: Tournament name: BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Location: Singapore Category: Year-ending championships Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2018 Round: Round robin Broadcast: No live telecast in India Live score: wtafinals.com You can follow all the coverage of the WTA Finals 2018 here on Sportskeeda<doc-sep>If women’s tennis were a bistro, there would be “a whole lot on the menu,” Tracy Austin said. It is hard to argue. The men’s game has re-entered another phase of dominance by Novak Djokovic. But with one season about to end and another soon to begin, the women’s game remains delightfully difficult to categorize with its rich multigenerational mix of genuine contenders and week-to-week suspense. “There’s a story line for everyone,” said Austin, a former No. 1 player who is now an analyst. That is true of the tour but not quite the case in Singapore, where the WTA Finals will begin on Sunday. Among those who failed to qualify for these year-end championships were two of the most fascinating figures of the 2018 season: 37-year-old Serena Williams and 20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka. Williams, picking her spots very carefully as a new mother, might not have played anyway. But the four women who each won a Grand Slam singles titles this year did make the cut: Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka.<doc-sep>No. 1 Simona Halep has withdrawn from the WTA Finals because of a lower back injury. Her withdrawal means Kiki Bertens has qualified for the final spot, joining Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Sloane Stephens, Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina in Singapore for the $7 million year-end tournament, which begins Sunday. “I wanted to finish 2018 on a high after such an incredible year, but sadly my back injury hasn’t healed the way we hoped it would and I need to put my long-term health first,” Halep said in a statement. Halep clinched the year-end top ranking on Monday. She had her best year on tour in 2018, reaching the Australian Open final and then winning her first Grand Slam title, at the French Open in June. But she announced at the start of this month that she had an M.R.I. exam after retiring from her first-round match at the China Open and that a herniated disk problem was found.<doc-sep>SINGAPORE -- In a match between the last two US Open champions, Sloane Stephens came out on top. The 2017 champion beat Naomi Osaka 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 Monday at the WTA Finals, the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world. Both players are making their debut appearances at the tournament, but Stephens appeared to be more composed, while Osaka, who became the first Japanese citizen to win a Grand Slam title last month in New York, never seemed comfortable. "I'm just really happy to get through and play a good, competitive match," Stephens said on court after the match. "I never gave up. I knew she's been playing well and I'd have to play really good tennis to beat her." Both players struggled to hold serve. Osaka was broken on 7 of 19 break-point opportunities, while Stephens was broken on 4 of 12. Stephens entered the tournament with 33 wins this season, the least of any of the eight qualifiers. She reached her second career Grand Slam final at this year's French Open, and won the Miami title. Osaka continually showed her frustration during the match. When she failed to capitalize on four break points in the fourth game of the second set, she made a visible shrugging gesture with both hands. Stephens gifted the second set to Osaka when she double-faulted on a second set point in the 10th game. But Osaka appeared to be mentally fatigued and only managed to hold serve in the third game of the final set. Nevertheless, Osaka was encouraged in knowing she'll play at least two more matches in the round_robin format. "I took my five minutes of being really sad,'' Osaka said. "I just tried to think that you learn more when you lose, so what can I learn from this match and try to apply it to the next match? "I think, in a way, that you can only get better every match you play.'' Kiki Bertens, who qualified for the draw when No. 1 Simona Halep withdrew with a herniated disk in her back, fought back to beat top seed Angelique Kerber 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. "I was really happy to turn this match around,'' Bertens said. "I had a little (on_court) chat with my coach when it wasn't going so well. We decided I should go a little bit more for my shots and be more aggressive.'' The first seven games of the third set were service breaks before Bertens held for a 5-3 lead. Kerber, a finalist here in 2016, finally held in the ninth game, but couldn't prevent Bertens from serving out the match. "I started really well and she started playing better and better and then I dropped a little bit with my intensity,'' Kerber said. "In the third set I had so many chances and I couldn't take it.'' Kerber plays Osaka and Stephens takes on Bertens in the second group matches on Wednesday.<doc-sep>
On Day 3 of the WTA Finals 2018, both the matches went the full distance. It was yet another day of comebacks. World No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki lost the 2nd set against Petra Kvitova but won by dominating the 3rd. Earlier, Elina Svitolina did a similar feat against Karolina Pliskova. Coming to Day 4, it's the Red Group that is back in action for the second round of matches. Again, the winners in the previous round were players who weren't the favourites to win. Sloane Stephens beat Osaka and Kiki Bertens upset Kerber. On Wednesday, one match will decide who'll stay in the tournament while the other is going to determine a semi-finalist. Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, the US Open and Wimbledon champions respectively, will clash in a bid to get their first wins and stay in the tournament. They will both try and decimate their opponent to stand a better chance for a semi-final berth. It's the southpaw who leads the head-to-head statistics with the German winning 3 out of their 4 meetings so far. Her last win against Osaka came in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, where she won effortlessly. Naomi Osaka is the one coming into the match with a slightly better form, winning 7 of her last 10 matches while Kerber has managed 5 victories. The Japanese has 2 titles to her name in this season -- a Premier Mandatory and a Grand Slam. Angelique Kerber, after winning Wimbledon, has faded away slightly, exiting 4 tournaments in the 1st and 2nd rounds. In the 2nd match of the day, Sloane Stephens meets Kiki Bertens, having won their only clash five years ago. It came on clay at Rome. This will also be an interesting match to view as neither of them have figured out chinks in each others' armours. The Dutchwoman, on the back of a stunning upset, will not even look at her loss against the American or her ranking (3 places below). But, Stephens is also coming into this contest after a great victory. Both these players have a game tilting towards the powerful side and will be looking to improve their rankings via a semi-final appearance in this Year-ending Championship. Sloane will be looking to use her smashing forehand to target Bertens's backhand and extend the number of wins against her to 2. Here is all you need to know about how to follow the WTA Finals 2018: Tournament name: BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Location: Singapore Category: Year-ending championships Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2018 Round: Round robin Broadcast: No live telecast in India Live score: wtafinals.com You can follow all the coverage of the WTA Finals 2018 here on Sportskeeda