Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia battled China's Qinwen Zheng for two hours and 51 minutes before emerging with the WTA Elite Trophy championship on Sunday in Zhuhai, China.
Haddad Maia, the eighth seed, topped the seventh-seeded Zheng 7-6 , 7-6 in the longest tour-level straight-sets match this season. Yuan Yue needed 2:49 to defeat Marie Bouzkova in the Seoul quarterfinals.
It was the first meeting between Zheng - who saw her eight-match win streak end - and Haddad Maia, who did not drop a set in the event. Zheng had won the event in Zhengzhou, China, two weeks ago. Sabalenka won 21 of 26 first-service points , saved all five break points she faced and capitalized on Sakkari's 19 unforced errors. Sabalenka led 6-0, 5-0 before Sakkari fended off three match points to win her first and only game.
The tournament's group stage split the top eight players in the world into two groups of four. After the round robin, the two players with the best records in each group will advance to a single-elimination bracket.