Bizarre penalty gives Aston Villa their first Champions League defeat in Bruges

RIYADH: Zheng Qinwen continued to deliver in her breakthrough season as she moved into the last four of the WTA Finals with a victory over Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The Chinese Olympic champion beat fourth-seeded Paolini 6-1, 6-1 in just 67 minutes. It was their 30th win in 35 games.

Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina claimed a consolatory 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who had already secured her semi-final place as group winner on Monday.

Rybakina, already eliminated from the competition after losing her first two games, finally found form against Sabalenka. It was a much-needed confidence boost for the world No. 5, who missed most of the second half of the season with allergies, insomnia and a back injury.

“It was a tough game and I'm really happy that I won,” said Rybakina, who gave Sabalenka a warm hug at the net. “I think it would be nice to at least end the year with a win against the number 1 in the world.”

The defeat was only Sabalenka's second in 24 games. She had yet to know who she would face in Friday's semi-final, but whatever happens, she has reason to celebrate as she secured the top spot in the year-end rankings on Tuesday when Iga Swiatek was defeated by Coco Gauff .

However, the Belarusian has no intention of letting this success distract her from the task at hand, which is to win the WTA Finals trophy for the first time in her career.

“It's a really great feeling, but I thought that last night and it didn't really work out well for me tonight. So I just want to focus on the current tournament, stay hungry and motivated because it's a big tournament and that's what it is.” “It's one of my goals, so I'll focus on that goal,” Sabalenka said on Wednesday.

On the final day of round-robin action in the Purple Group, Zheng and Paolini battled it out for the second qualifying spot behind Sabalenka.

Zheng, seeded seventh, secured her place in the last four with a dominant performance, becoming the first Chinese player since Li Na in 2013 to make it out of the group stage at the event.

“That was 11 years ago; I’m really proud that I did it,” said the 22-year-old. “I didn't know what to expect when I came to these WTA Finals for the first time. I was in a very difficult group.

“It's one of the best performances I've had this year. Really good first serve percentage. I felt really good on my groundstrokes and hit a few good volleys. I really enjoyed it.”

An aggressive return gave Zheng her first break of the match in the third game, then she broke again and held at love to take a 5-1 lead. Paolini, a two-time Grand Slam finalist this season, saved a set point on her own serve in the seventh game, but Zheng kept her foot on the gas pedal and closed out the 32-minute set at the second opportunity.

Zheng was just as impressive in the second set and after saving a break point on serve at 5-1, she capped the victory with her 12th ace of the match.

“I finally feel like my serve has become a little more consistent,” said Zheng, who leads the tour in aces won and first-service points this season.

This was her fourth victory in as many meetings with Paolini, who will remain in Riyadh to fight for a place in the semi-finals in the doubles competition alongside fellow Italian Sara Errani.

Since Wimbledon in July, Zheng has recorded the most wins of any woman on the tour. In addition to gold in singles at the Olympics, she defended her title in Palermo, reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, the semifinals in Beijing, the final in Wuhan and lifted the trophy in Tokyo. Three of her five losses in that run have come to Sabalenka and she said she had been impressed with the Belarusian's form this season. Zheng's record against Sabalenka is 0-5 and she said this was a big motivation for her.

“She won two slams,” Zheng said. “This is really a big achievement for them. And I remember last year she won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. And then she kept going, kept working.

“But you know, both Slams she won this year, I lost to her on the road. That means if I want to win a Slam, I have to be able to beat them. And I’m really looking forward to this day.”