Pliskova beats Muguruza in deciding tiebreaker to win thrilling WTA Finals encounter
Pliskova improved her career head-to-head against Muguruza to 9-2 with today’s win
Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova reacts during her group stage match against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza
Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic
WTA Finals Guadalajara | Draw | Schedule
- What happened: Karolina Pliskova overcame Garbine Muguruza in a battle of former world No 1s on the opening day at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
- Why it matters: Pliskova is currently placed second in her group’s round robin standings after the first day of play
- You may also learn: More about Pliskova’s impressive lead over Muguruza in their head-to-head
Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza played out a classic on the opening evening session at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico that went on for two hours and 27 minutes. The two former world No 1s went toe-to-toe in front of a packed crowd before Pliskova finally prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 on Wednesday evening.
Pliskova bounces back after first set loss
Muguruza, who is making her first appearance at the WTA’s season-finale since 2017, struck first breaking her Czech opponent’s service twice while losing her own serve once. That was enough for her to claim the opening set 6-4.
Pliskova, who is making her fifth consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, used her big serve to dominate the second set. She was able to get 89% of her first serves in, winning 88% of those points as well as both of the points where she had to hit her second serve.
Pliskova scores ninth career win over Muguruza
Pliskova’s serve did not help aid her cause in the final set. She hit 6 double faults but managed to remain even with Muguruza throughout the decider as both players broke serve only once in the final set.
The 29-year-old Czech saved two break points at 5-5 while Muguruza saved two match points at 5-6 to force the match into a deciding set tie-break. The Spaniard saved a third match point late in the tiebreak before Pliskova finally won it 8-6.
The win was Pliskova’s ninth in 11 career meetings over Muguruza – making the Spaniard the player she has beaten the most in her career so far.
Teotihuacan Group Standings
Pliskova and Kontaveit will face off on Friday as round-robin play continues with the winner of that match being the favourite to top the group. Muguruza and Krejcikova will face off in the other group match, which both players will be hoping to win to keep their chances to qualify for the semis alive.
- Kontaveit, 1-0 (2 sets won, zero lost)
- Pliskova, 1-0 (2 sets won, 1 set lost)
- Muguruza, 0-1 ((1 set won, 2 sets lost)
- Krejcikova, 0-1 (0 sets won, two lost)
