Konta and Kvitova into Elite Trophy semis

Britain’s Johanna Konta and Czech Petra Kvitova secured the last two semi-final slots in the $2.2 million WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China, on Friday.
Top seed Konta, who will be the first Briton to finish a WTA season in the top 10 since 1983, disposed of France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.
The 25-year-old, who won her first WTA title at the Stanford Classic earlier this year and reached the China Open final in Beijing last month, only lost 10 points on her own serve.
In an all-Czech showdown, third seed Kvitova beat compatriot Barbora Strycova — with whom she will team up in next week’s Fed Cup — 6-1, 6-4 to qualify for the next stage.
Russian Elena Vesnina and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands were facing off later in the final match of the round-robin section of the tournament, but neither could reach the semi-finals.