Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejcikova posted big wins in the WTA Finals Riyadh on Tuesday, bouncing their opponents in straight sets.
Gauff topped Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-3, 6-4, while Krejcikova, a Czech, beat Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-3.
The victory by Gauff ensures her a spot in the event’s semifinals. Krejcikova remains in contention to move on, needing to defeat Swiatek in group play on Thursday to advance to the semis from the Orange group.
Pegula was eliminated after the loss as she moved to 0-2 in the group.
Krejcikova, seeded eighth, was the final player added to the finals in Saudi Arabia and recorded her first-ever win in the event after finishing 0-3 three years ago.
“I’m extremely happy to win my first match at the WTA Finals, finally after some time,” Krejcikova said. “I think the match today was tough. There were a lot of moments where it could shift any way. So, yeah, I’m super happy with the outcome.”
Four Krejcikova breaks of Pegula’s service were enough to doom the American’s chances to win. She hadn’t lost straight matches in WTA play since March.
Krejcikova, whose 17-14 season results include a Wimbledon singles win, could be the only player in the 2000s to advance to the WTA Finals with fewer than 30 match wins on the year.
Swiatek, overtaken at World No. 1 by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, has had her way with Gauff. The two last met in the final of the French Open, which Swiatek won in straight sets, and the Poland native held an 11-1 edge entering the match Tuesday.
But Gauff, the third seed, prevailed over the second seed despite battling her continued problem with her serve. Gauff tallied 11 double faults, leading to 33 unforced errors against 10 winners.
But the discrepancy was just as stark for Swiatek, who struck just 15 winners to 47 unforced errors. The difference came down to break points, with Gauff broken just twice compared to five times for Swiatek.
“Despite our record, I had a lot of confidence going in. I felt like I was playing great tennis,” Gauff said. “And even when I was playing a little bit sloppy, the games that I lost were still going to deuce. So that gave me a lot of confidence. And I knew if I could find my game, which I actually didn’t at the end, but I knew if I just stayed solid I had the chance to close out the match.”
Play continues Wednesday in Riyadh with competition in the Purple group. Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed, will meet seventh seed Qinwen Zheng of China for a spot in the semis. Sabalenka, the top seed, will face Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the fifth seed, who already has been eliminated.
–Field Level Media
