Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbiñe 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. The 2020 tournament was canceled.
She didn’t win any titles in 2021 but kept a high ranking by reaching the finals at Wimbledon and Montreal, and the semifinals at Cincinnati.
Pliskova now has a 9-2 record against former Wimbledon and French Open champion Muguruza, who won the Chicago and Dubai titles this year and is making her fourth appearance at the season-ending event.
“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.”