TORONTO: Elina Svitolina crushed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 to win the Toronto WTA trophy on Sunday, capturing her fifth title of 2017 and her second final of the season over the former world No. 1.
Fifth seed Svitolina, of the Ukraine, needed just 77 minutes to beat Wozniacki, blasting four aces and winning the final eight games of the hardcourt match.
She kept the sixth seed at bay with precision groundstrokes that had Wozniacki scurrying around the court to stay in the rallies.
“It has been amazing. The title’s very special for me and I am very happy that it could happen here,” said the 22-year-old Ukrainian who earned $502,000 for the victory.
Svitolina’s road to the final included wins over four top ten players.
She had a straight-sets demolition of 37-year-old Venus Williams and wins over fourth seeded Garbine Muguruza and second seed Simona Halep.
She has now won all the finals she has played this season, comprising Toronto, Dubai, Istanbul, Taiwan and Rome.
She became the first Ukrainian to reach the Top 10 in the WTA rankings by capturing the Dubai title in February where she beat Wozniacki.
Svitolina, who has a career record of 9-2 in finals, hammered 15 winners and won 63 points compared to just 43 for Wozniacki.
While Svitolina has been perfect in finals this year, Wozniacki has lost six consecutive finals and seven straight dating back to last season.
“Hopefully I will get another chance to get the trophy,” Wozniacki said.
Wozniacki got off to a decent start in the opening set but serving at 4-4 she double faulted at 0-40 to give Svitolina a 5-4 lead.
That proved to be the turning point as Svitolina held served to take the set then cruised through the second set in just 31 minutes.
Svitolina, who dropped just one set en route to the title, will rise to No. 4 in the world rankings on Monday.
After finishing 2016 at number 19 in the world, Wozniacki put together a string of victories and is back up to No. 6.
Svitolina tears Wozniacki apart in WTA Toronto final
Svitolina tears Wozniacki apart in WTA Toronto final
Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga
VILA-REAL, Spain Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
Mbappe and Vinicius Junior “are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who... I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half.
- ‘Nightmare for defenses’ -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank and his low cross was blocked but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
“They are a nightmare for defenses,” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “I hope they can keep bringing joy.”
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“For you,” Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support.
“For me, the most important thing is that are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius’s goal and we saw it again today, with Brahim,” Arbeloa told reporters.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
