WTA Finals: Kontaveit, Pliskova win first matches in Group Teotihuacan

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Eighth seed Anett Kontaveit and third seed Karolina Pliskova kicked off action at the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara with round-robin victories on Wednesday.

Anett Kontaveit WTA Finals Guadalajara
Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in action during the first round-robin match at the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara WTA tennis tournament

Last-minute qualifier Anett Kontaveit opened this year’s WTA Finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Barbora Krejcikova in Group Teotihuacan. Kontaveit made her Top 10 debut last Monday and came to Guadalajara with a 26-2 record in her previous seven tournaments of the season, winning four titles. On Wednesday in Guadalajara, the Estonian won her 11th straight match by defeating the first woman since 2016 to qualify for both singles and doubles at the WTA Finals.

After a bit of a losing streak in the summer, Kontaveit’s results took off when she started working with coach Dmitry Tursunov at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Following a first-round loss at Cincinnati, Kontaveit won the Cleveland title and things started rolling from there.

Karolina Pliskova WTA Finals Guadalajara
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in action during the first round-robin match at the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara WTA tennis tournament

Later on Wednesday, Karolina Pliskova defeated Garbine Muguruza 4-6 6-2 7-6(6) in a meeting of the other two players from Group Teotihuacan and the only two players who are not singles debutantes at the WTA Finals.

“The first set was not the best from me. The serve was amazing in the second set, many free points on the first serve,” said Pliskova, who advanced to the semifinals on past three appearances at the season-ending tournament. “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.”

After falling to 2-9 head-to-head against Pliskova, Muguruza said that she gave it all she could and saved many match points, so she was satisfied with her fighting spirit despite the loss.

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Marija Zivlak
Marija Zivlak is the founder and editor-in-chief of Women’s Tennis Blog, a trusted source for in-depth coverage of the WTA Tour, tennis fashion, and player insights. Based in Belgrade, Serbia, she has been reporting on women’s tennis for over 18 years and has contributed exclusive fashion articles to the official WTA website. Marija launched Women’s Tennis Blog on March 31, 2007 to provide fans with accurate, engaging, and up-to-date tennis news. Her expertise and deep connections within the sport allow her to offer unique perspectives on tennis trends, gear, and events.

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