Bertens to face Sabalenka in Elite final

Top seed Kiki Bertens will face Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the WTA Elite Trophy after beating Zheng Saisai in three sets. Bertens, 27, breezed through the group stage, winning both her matches, but was pushed all the way by the Chinese wildcard on Saturday. In a match lasting two hours and 30 minutes, the Dutch star came through 2-6 6-3 6-4 to reach her fifth final of the year. The world number 10, who rallied from a set and break down to get over the line, felt a change of tactics midway through the contest was key. “I knew I had to do something else because Saisai was putting so much balls back on the court, and I just had not the energy to play those long rallies,” she said. “I was just mixing it up, trying to do some serve and volley, which was working pretty well. I was surprised with that.” Waiting on the other side of the net on Sunday will be Belarusian Sabalenka, who also won both her group matches and took care of 23-year-old Czech Republic star Karolina Muchova in the other semi-final. Bertens is expecting a tough clash and feels it is an open contest. “I played Aryna already a few times this year, but it’s a final, so whoever is the best can win,” she added.