Daria Kasatkina upsets top seed in Zhuhai event

No. 6 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia upended No. 1 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 in group play Wednesday at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China.

The two-hour, 10-minute victory was Kasatkina's opening match in the Azalea Group, one of four three-player groups competing in the round-robin event. Kasatkina can reach the semifinals with a win on Thursday against No. 11 seed Magda Linette of Poland.

No. 9 Caroline Garcia of France knocked out No. 2 Madison Keys in the Camellia Group with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) triumph, snapping a four-match losing streak to the American. Keys fired 12 aces, but Garcia saved both break points she faced.

No. 7 Qinwen Zheng of China began play in the Orchid Group with a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4 win over No. 10 Donna Vekic of Croatia in nearly three hours.