WTA Finals playoffs: Caroline Garcia vs Maria Sakkari Match Preview

 Carolina Garcia qualified for the play offs as she defeated Daria Kasatkina in three sets. She won the deciding set via tie-break.

Coco Guaff joined the list of players that failed to get a point during the finals as she lost again to Iga Swiatek in two straight sets.

It was not a Final she hoped for as she also failed the qualify for the playoffs in the doubles.

Carolina Garcia after qualifying yesterday will face Maria Sakkari today. The winner will get a spot in the finals of the playoffs

Fottennis gives you the preview of this important playoff.

Caroline Garcia is back in the semifinals of the year-end championships after a enthralling match against Daria Kasatkina. The Russian had not lost a match from a set lead in well over a year but the Frenchwoman held her nerve for two and a half hours to win the virtual quarterfinal, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.

The world no. 6 was a point away from giving the Russian a chance to serve for the match but remained ultra aggressive throughout the marathon. She split her previous round robin matches in straight sets, defeating Coco Gauff to start the week but falling well short to top seed Iga Swiatek.

In 2017, in her only previous singles appearance at the WTA Finals, she lost to Venus Williams, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals in Singapore. She is looking to make amends and become the third ever French finalist in history after Mary Pierce (1997, 2005) and Amelie Mauresmo (2003, 2005-06).

She was ranked 75th in June and hadn't reached a final in three years. The 29-year-old has earned 30+ wins since that month, becoming the only player to lift titles on all surfaces this year - Bad Homburg, Warsaw, and Cincinnati (as a qualifier) — and a first-time slam semifinalist in New York. Maria Sakkari is getting better and better as her second WTA Finals appearance progresses on. She edged Jessica Pegula, 7-6, 7-6, to start but followed up with much more emphatic victories, defeating Aryna Sabalenka at the loss of six games and Ons Jabeur at the loss of five games.

It's a brilliant showing after arriving with a 1-5 season win-loss against top 10 players. She became the first player to reach the semifinals at the WTA Finals in her first two appearances at the event since Sam Stosur in 2010 and 2011, although that milestone was soon matched by Caroline Garcia.

In November 2021, she also got to the final-four stage at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara but could not harm the red-hot Anett Kontaveit and lost in three sets. She will make another attempt while carrying a decent 4-2 win-loss in semifinals this season, much better than last year's 1-7 display.

She holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only participant in Fort Worth who has not claimed multiple titles in her career; her lone one is a modest WTA 250 clay trophy in Rabat in 2019. This year itself, she has been the runner-up in St. Petersburg, Indian Wells, Parma, and Guadalajara.

Head-to-head: Caroline Garcia leads 2-0. The pair met at two WTA 1000 events with a gap of five years. The Frenchwoman won the semifinals at 2017 Wuhan, 6-3, 6-2, and the second round at Cincinnati this year, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1, (as a qualifier) and went on to win the title on both instances.