Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) in her opening match at the WTA Finals.
In a contest between two former No. 1-ranked players, the third-seeded Pliskova struggled early adjusting to the nearly 5,000-feet altitude of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, on Wednesday.
“The first set was not the best from me. The serve was amazing in the second set, many free points on the first serve," Pliskova said.
“Then it was a fighting third set. I thought I just had too many chances, didn't make it really, but happy it went my way in the end.” Pliskova is playing the WTA Finals for the fifth time, having reached the semifinals in 2018 and '19.
“That was a very tough match for both of us. It was a one-point difference — I saved many match points and is a tough loss I fought as hard as I could,” Muguruza said.
“I’m happy with my fighting spirit even though I lost.”
Earlier, Anett Kontaveit extended her hot streak to 11 consecutive victories with a 6-3, 6-4 win over second-seeded Barbora Krejcikova.
Kontaveit has won 27 of her last 29 matches, which include her title run at Ostrava where she beat Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari, both of whom are competing here.
The results: Anett Kontaveit bt Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-4; Karolina Pliskova bt Garbine Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
