Pliskova thumps Bacsinszky to stay on track for Singapore

Karolina Pliskova charged into the final of the Tianjin Open and further boosted her hopes of making the WTA Finals with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 triumph over Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday.

Bacsinszky, who recently returned from a six-month injury lay-off, looked to be feeling the effects of her quarter-final victory over Aryna Sabalenka.

That success ended the Belarussian's hopes of making the WTA Finals, but Pliskova – who holds the eighth qualifying spot – is firmly on course to feature in Singapore and will now face Caroline Garcia in Sunday's final.

"I felt good," said the Tianjin top seed after a win that stretches her advantage over nearest rival Kiki Bertens.

"I quite like her [Bacsinszky's] game, and I just had the match under control. I know she can play better than she played, but I was just worried about myself.

"It was pretty fast today ...but she was a little bit tired because she had a long match yesterday."

Second seed Garcia overcame Hsieh Su-wei 6-3 6-4 to reach her first final of 2018.