Muguruza reaches semifinals at WTA Finals; Safarova out

Garbine Muguruza of Spain, smiles as she hits balls to spectators after she beat Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during their singles match at the WTA tennis finals in Singapore on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Joseph Nair)

SINGAPORE — Garbine Muguruza reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals by beating former champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 on Friday.

Muguruza finished the round-robin stage 3-0 and only needed to win a set against Kvitova to earn a semifinal berth.

Kvitova, at 1-2, can only reach the semifinals if the already eliminated Lucie Safarova beats Angelique Kerber in straight sets in the late match.

Safarova needed Muguruza to beat Kvitova in straight sets to have a possibility to advance.

Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska earned semifinal berths on Thursday.

In a match that featured 15 breaks of serve, Muguruza converted her fourth match point with a backhand crosscourt volley to win in 2 hours, 33 minutes.