The final group yet to play in Zhuhai is Group D. Group D is the only group which contains three Grand Slam finalists. Roberta Vinci made this year’s US Open final. Caroline Wozniacki is a two-time US Open finalist, and Svetlana Kuznetsova is a two-time Grand Slam champion, winning the US Open and French Open.
Playing Styles
This group contains three completely different women with three different playing styles. Vinci is an excellent doubles player which means she has tremendous hands and reflexes at the net. She has excellent court sense and movement. Her go-to shot is her backhand slice.
Wozniacki is known for her fantastic movement on the court. She is one of the speediest players on tour and can track down any shot. She does not possess a go-to shot, but she makes up for that with her consistency.
Kuznetsova is the player who is the most well-rounded of the three. Her speed is very underrated, and she has very strong groundstrokes. Despite all this, she can become very erratic at times, which can cause her to go off the rails quickly in matches.
Highlights For Each Player
For Vinci, her season highlight is quite easy, her stunning run to the US Open final. She lost to countrywoman and good friend Flavia Pennetta in the end, but she completed the most remarkable upset in tennis history as she defeated Serena Williams who was looking to complete the Grand Slam after she won the first three majors of the year. Vinci also made a final earlier in the year in Nuremberg but lost to fellow Italian Karin Knapp.
After getting to the WTA Finals last year, the Dane dropped off quite a bit in 2015. She started off her year in a final at Auckland, losing to fellow WTA Elite Trophy competitor Venus Williams. She won her first title of the year in Kuala Lumpur and followed that up with another final in Nuremberg but lost to Angelique Kerber in the final.
The Russian does not really have many outstanding results this year. Like Wozniacki, she has struggled at the Slams and many other smaller events. However, she does have one title to her name this year, and it came in her home country in Moscow over countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Wozniacki is the only woman in the group who holds a winning record in the combined head-to-head against her opponents (9-6). The two remaining women have multiple wins against each of their respective opponents though, meaning no one should be a pushover.
Prediction
None of the three players in this group have played brilliantly this year or as of late for a matter of fact. It is going to take a bit of magic from one of them to move onto the semifinals. These three women offer three different playing styles, but the most consistent one should be the one to escape the group.
Group Winner: Caroline Wozniacki