French Open champion Garbine Muguruza ended Svetlana Kuznetsova’s winning streak at the WTA Finals on Friday with a consolation 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory.
Kuznetsova finally ran out of steam after having already booked her place in the semifinals, winning just one of the last 12 games as the Spaniard, who was already eliminated from contention after losing her first two matches, finished the tournament with a morale-boosting victory.
After taking the opening set in style, Kuznetsova suddenly faded, losing 10 games in a row, including a 13-minute game in the third set that saw seven break points.
Despite playing only for pride, the 23-year-old Muguruza produced her best performance of the tournament, thumping down three aces and finishing off the contest in 94 minutes.
With Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova both absent from the prestigious end-of-season championship, Kuznetsova has emerged as the unlikely headline act of the $7 million tournament, restricted to the world’s top eight players.
She will play Dominika Cibulkova in Saturday’s semifinals while the defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska will face World No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
The results: Garbine Muguruza (Esp) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 3-6, 6-0, 6-1; Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt Karolina Pliskova (Cze) 7-5, 6-3.
