DAY 7 of the WTA Tour Finals saw the competition move to the semi final stage, with two mouth-watering clashes on the cards to see who would make the final and potentially take home the first WTA Tour Finals championship for their respective countries.

Paula Badosa (ESP) vs. Garbine Muguruza (ESP)

Game one of the day saw an all Spaniard affair. This was the first time the pair had ever faced each other in the WTA, and with pretty even years in comparison to each other the match could have gone either way.

The first set saw Garbine Muguruza break Paula Badosa early to take a 2-1 lead, and then she broke again in the final game of the set to take the set 6-3.

Despite hitting two aces to zero, Badosa also hit three double faults and her first serve percentage was only 60.6 per cent. Muguruza on the other hand had a first serve percentage of 72.7 per cent and won 81.3 per cent of points off the first serve, whereas Badosa only won 55 per cent of first serve points.

Muguruza broke for 2-0 early in the second set, and then managed to hold at 3-0. Badosa then brought it back to 4-2 and remain within touching distance. Muguruza then went on to win the set 6-3 and take the match.

Badosa’s serve was once again full of errors in the second set, as she once again hit three double faults. She did manage to raise her first serve percentage a bit, while Muguruza’s dropped off significantly, down to only 45.7 per cent.

Both points also saved a remarkable number of break points, with Muguruza saving every break point she faced and Badosa saved all bar one.

This win saw Muguruza make the final of the season ending event for the first time, and had to wait for the end of the night session to see who her opponent would be.

Anett Kontaveit (EST) vs. Maria Sakkari (GRE)

Heading into the match, Maria Sakkari had a 6-5 head-to-head lead over Anett Kontaveit, but Kontaveit won the last time these two met back in September and is in quite good form this tournament.

The first set was very one sided.

Kontaveit raced ahead to 2-0 and then held serve for 3-0. Sakkari then finally got on the board for a 3-1 score line, and then Kontaveit held her next service game and went on to win the set 6-1.

Although her first serve percentage was lower than Sakkari’s, Kontaveit’s first and second serve points won percentage were both significantly higher than Sakkari’s.

The second set was a completely different story. Sakkari managed to bounce back from that lopsided first set and win the second set 6-3.

Sakkari served a whopping six aces in that second set, but Kontaveit only managed three. Although Sakkari’s first serve percentage dropped from where it was in the first set, her first and second serve points won percentages both had a sizeable increase.

Kontaveit on the other hand managed to raise both her first serve percentage and second serve points won percentage, but her first serve points won percentage went down.

The third set saw Sakkari break early for a 3-2 lead but then Kontaveit broke back the very next game and held for a 4-3 lead.

Kontaveit then broke again to get to 5-3 and then served it out for the set and match.

Sakkari’s first serve percentage continue to fall in the third set, finishing at only 48.4 per cent. Kontaveit’s dropped too, down to only 56.7 per cent.

Kontaveit managed to raise her first serve points won percentage, but her second serve points won percentage dropped drastically down to only 38.5 per cent. Sakkari on the other hand had both her first and second serve points won percentages drop drastically.

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