Pliskova, Svitolina win on a night of upsets at WTA Finals
Big-serving Karolina Pliskova used her most potent weapon to damaging effect as she overwhelmed defending champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 in their opening round-robin match of the WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last night.
In the earlier White Group encounter at the eight-woman event, Elina Svitolina tore up the form book with a brilliant display of serving and retrieving to register a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Petra Kvitova.
Second seed Wozniacki, 28, had beaten Pliskova in the semi-finals last year and held a 6-3 lead in head-to-head encounters between the pair, but Pliskova, 26, refused to let her Danish opponent settle in a display of big hitting.
"I remember last year we played a lot. So I was just happy that I got this top win against a top player. So it's always very positive, always gives me extra confidence to beat a player like this," said Pliskova, the seventh seed.
Pliskova's power proved too much for Wozniacki for most of the match as the Czech, who also moved well, secured two breaks in a row to stake an early lead and kept the tenacious Dane at arm's length to claim the opener in 36 minutes.
Pliskova continued her onslaught to break immediately at the start of the second set, staving off three break-points against Wozniacki to consolidate the advantage as the Dane tried desperately to get back on level terms.
Wozniacki, who had played only two top-10 players this year before yesterday, struggled with rhythm and made several uncharacteristic errors.
She started to find her groove but squandered break-points in the eighth and 10th games in a dismal start to her title defence.
Pliskova, who saved all 10 break-points the Dane forged against her, added: "She was missing a lot in the first set, but she played much better in the second and I had to really fight for it. I was just happy that I closed it out in the second."
In the early match, 24-year-old Ukrainian Svitolina recorded a stunning triumph over left-handed Kvitova, after seven straight losses to the 28-year-old Czech.
Svitolina, who suffered a minor health scare when she felt dizzy during her post-match conference, will take on Pliskova tomorrow, while Wozniacki will hope to get her title defence back on track against Kvitova on the same day. - REUTERS, AFP
TODAY'S MATCHES
7.30pm: Naomi Osaka (x3) v Sloane Stephens (x5)
Followed by: Angelique Kerber (x1) v Kiki Bertens (x8)
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