Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff enjoyed winning starts to their WTA Finals campaigns in Riyadh on Sunday, albeit in contrasting fashion. Swiatek began her title defence with an almighty comeback, rallying back from a set and a double-break down to overcome eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes. The win was crucial for the Polish second seed to keep her hopes of wrestling back the number one ranking from Aryna Sabalenka alive.
Meanwhile, third-ranked American Gauff had a more straightforward evening, completing a 6-3, 6-2 win over her compatriot and US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in 75 minutes. "She's always a tough opponent. And these conditions against her, it's tough," said Gauff, who snapped a three-match losing streak to Pegula.
"But overall, I think I'm just happy with how I played. Sometimes it was sloppy, sometimes it was great, but that's tennis. I thought we both were playing at a high level.
I think I just was able to break through on some of the more important points." Earlier at King Saud University Indoor Arena, making her first competitive appearance in two months, Swiatek fell behind 4-6, 0-3 before she mounted a successful comeback against Krejcikova. "For sure it wasn't easy.
At the beginning I felt a bit rusty but I'm happy I found a way to play a little bit more solid," said Swiatek, who finished the match with 10 aces. "I tried to do the usual stuff that I do to control the ball a bit more because it was flying like crazy o.
