CENTRE COURT -- 1:00 p.m. start
[3] Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL) / Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) vs. Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Ena SHIBAHARA (JPN)
Not Before 3:00 p.m.
[3] Belinda BENCIC (SUI) vs. Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS)


MATCH POINTS

Belinda Bencic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will square off for the title at the VTB Kremlin Cup, the last Premier event on the WTA calendar for the season.

Bencic leads their overall head-to-head, 3-1, which includes both a win at Wimbledon earlier this year, and a win on Russian soil: a three-set victory in the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy in 2016. 

The Swiss secured the last spot at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen with a semifinal victory over Kristina Mladenovic, leapfrogging Serena Williams and holding off Kiki Bertens for the No.8 spot with her effort this week.

Two of Bencic's 10 career finals have come in Russia, as she finished runner-up to Roberta Vinci in St. Petersburg in 2016.

Pavlyuchenkova has reached three finals on home soil at the Kremlin Cup, winning in 2014, and has reached the quarterfinals or better five times.

The Russian is contesting her seventh final at Premier level, and looks to break a brief losing skid at the tournament level. She has lost her last three finals at Premier events over the past five years.

All three of Bencic's career titles have come at Premier level or higher, and she looks to win her fourth WTA crown overall and second of the season.