Tennis: Top seeds to battle in ASB Classic final

Caroline Wozniacki. Photo / Getty

The ASB Classic final has been set - and the two top seeds will be battling it out.

Caroline Wozniacki has joined Julia Goerges in the final, after overcoming an impressive effort from Sachia Vickery, 6-4, 6-4.

Vickery was in the contest for the entire second set, before being broken at the end by Wozniacki to seal the tight win.

Wozniacki gave credit to Vickery for a tough encounter.

"I started off really well, I served well, I played aggressive and kept the ball away from her. But then I stepped back - maybe half a step behind the baseline and all of a sudden she was getting to a lot of balls. She was counter punching very well and we had some crazy rallies there. I thought I had won this [rally] three times and it was still coming back and all of a sudden I was on defence."

"But I had to keep grinding out there and try to run her down."

Wozniacki and Goerges have both made the final once before at the ASB Classic, both losing, and Goerges edges their head-to-head record, 5-4.

The final gets underway at 2.30pm tomorrow.

6.28pm: The top two seeds are on track to meet in the ASB Classic final, with Caroline Wozniacki a set away from joining Julia Goerges in tomorrow's finale.

Wozniacki, the top seed, has taken the first set against American qualifier Sachia Vickery, 6-4.

Despite a tough three setter against Sofia Kenin earlier today, Wozniacki has recovered well, though she needed to see off a late Vickery comeback.

Vickery down 5-1, managed to battle back to get the match back on serve at 5-4, but she was broken once again to miss out on her opportunity.

Vickery will need to find something special in the second set to claim a second stunning victory today, having earlier beaten Agnieszka Radwanska.

Wozniacki has made the final once before at the Classic, and her chances of a second finale are looking good.

5.15pm: Julia Goerges has emphatically booked a spot in her second ASB Classic final.

Goerges has overpowered Su-Wei Hsieh in the semifinals, claiming a 6-1, 6-4 victory.

After a convincing quarter-final 6-4, 6-4 win over Polona Hercog this morning, Goerges keep her standards this afternoon, hitting seven aces in a display of hitting too powerful for the diminutive Hsieh to match.

Hsieh put up more of a fight in the second set, managing to claim an early break, and although Goerges evened the ledger, Hsieh's tricky style kept things close.

Goerges was forced to battle - saving two break points with vicious winners to hold serve at 4-4, and that spurred her on to claim a pivotal break the following game.

She held on from there, booking a final against either Caroline Wozniacki or Sachia Vickery, with that second semifinal getting underway in half an hour.

3.40pm: Caroline Wozniacki has survived a scare at the ASB Classic, getting past Sofia Kenin in a terrific three-set quarter-final clash.

Wozniacki came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in nearly two and half hours on court against the 19-year-old American wildcard.

Kenin played excellently in one of the games of the tournament, giving Wozniacki a real battle, but the world number three showed her class to eventually grind into the semifinals.

Wozniacki diagnosed what turned the game around.

"I tried to be more patient and just move forward when I had the opportunity. In the beginning I was rushing a little bit but at the same time, she was making me rush."

In the semifinals, she will play American qualifier Sachia Vickery, who will be slightly more rested after finishing a comprehensive win over Agnieszka Radwanska earlier today.

The match will be held tonight, after the first semifinal between Julia Goerges and Su-Wei Hsieh.

2.40pm: Agnieszka Radwanska is gone from the ASB Classic.

The fourth seed waited around for two days to play her quarter-final, and it seems she shouldn't have bothered, being thrashed 6-2 6-1 by American qualifier Sachia Vickery.

Radwanska lost her serve entirely in the wind on the grandstand court, winning only 35 per cent of her points on first serve, and never being in the contest against the world number 122.

It continues a strong tournament for Vickery, who had earlier beaten defending champion Lauren Davis, and now meets the winner of the Caroline Wozniacki v Sofia Kenin clash in tonight's final semifinal.

2.25pm: Caroline Wozniacki is facing her first adversity at the ASB Classic.

The top seed, Wozniacki lost the opening set 6-4 to American youngster Sofia Kenin, but has bounced back to claim the second 6-2.

She is in a better position than fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who looks set for a quick exit in her quarter-final against American qualifier Sachia Vickery.

Radwanska is down 6-2, 4-0, and it looks like fans will be denied a glamour Wozniacki v Radwanska semifinal clash.

Wozniacki is still a good chance to progress though, despite excellent play from Kenin.

A wildcard into the tournament, Kenin has played some quality tennis, displaying deft touches at the net in possibly the best match of the tournament so far.

Wozniacki had cruised through her first two rounds in dominant straight set displays, but now will have to battle to progress to the semifinals.

1.15pm: Third seed Barbora Strycova has crashed out of the ASB Classic in bizarre style.

Strycova looked set to cruise through to the semifinals after winning the first set 6-0 against Su-Wei Hsieh, but a remarkable comeback - or meltdown, if you prefer - saw her lose 6-0, 2-6, 2-6 to the world number 103.

It wasn't completely surprising for Strycova, who had been taken to three sets in her first two matches after winning the opening set, but the drastic change in the match's ascendancy was stunning as Hsieh took control.

For the 31-year-old Hsieh, primarily a doubles specialist, it will be a rare WTA Tour singles semifinal. She will have to topple another top seed in Julia Goerges, with Goerges set to be slightly fresher in the semifinal which is set to be held later this afternoon.

On centre court, Caroline Wozniacki and Sofia Kenin are currently on serve, with Wozniacki up 3-2.

12.15pm: Second seed Julia Goerges has booked a semifinal spot at the ASB Classic.

Goerges is the first woman through to the semis after a straightforward 6-4 6-4 victory over Polona Hercog, and will play either Barbora Strycova or Su-Wei Hsieh in the semifinals.

Goerges won 82 per cent of points on her first serve, and broke Hercog at 3-3 in each set to claim a comfortable victory.

With just 93 minutes on court, Goerges will now have time to recover before her semifinal - which will be held this afternoon, but after 2.30pm.

Strycova looms as the most likely opponent, but after winning the first set 6-0 against Hsieh, she lost the second set 6-2, and is in the midst of her third three-setter of the tournament.

11.25am: Second seed Julia Goerges has taken the first set of her quarter-final against Polona Hercog, winning it 6-4.

After sprinkles of showers saw just three games completed before 11.00am, Goerges broke serve to go up 4-3, and held that advantage with her own impressive first serve - winning 93 per cent of points from it.

On an outside court, third seed Barbora Strycova has rolled through the first set against Su-Wei Hsieh, barely breaking a sweat in winning it 6-0.

9.55am: After two days of endless rain, the ASB Classic will finally resume this morning, in what is set to be a bumper day of tennis at Stanley Street.

All four quarter-finals are set to be held this morning, starting at 10.00am, before the victors clash in the semifinals this afternoon.

There is a significant chance that the semifinals could consist of the top four seeds – a feat that has occurred just once in tournament history.

Caroline Wozniacki, Julia Goerges, Barbora Strycova and Agnieszka Radwanska are all strong chances to win their quarter-final clashes against unseeded opponents this morning, potentially creating a big-name semifinal slate.

In the 32-year history of the event, 1994 was the only time where all of the top four seeds contested the semifinals, back when the tournament had a much lower profile.

Those 1994 semifinalists – Julie Halard-Decugis, Patricia Hy-Boulais, Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen and Ines Gorrochategui - can't hold a candle to the current top four, with none of the 1994 four ever getting past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam.

It's no sure thing that all four seeds will comfortably progress, especially considering that several of them have already been involved in tight early-round battles.

However, all of them are significant favourites, and other upsets throughout the draw means that for some, they will be playing less fearsome opponents than in the first and second round.

In fact, the big four – all ranked inside the world's top 30 – all face players ranked outside the top 100 in their quarter-final clashes.

Goerges starts proceedings on centre court against world number 100 Polona Hercog, while Strycova duels with world number 103 Su-Wei Hsieh on the grandstand court.

World number three Wozniacki is the most likely to progress, with the in-form Dane taking on world number 108 Sofia Kenin on centre court following Goerges' match, while Radwanska plays world number 122 Sachia Vickery.