Iga Swiatek recovered from a set and double break down to begin her WTA Finals defence with victory over Barbora Krejcikova in her first match in two months.
World No 2 Swiatek had not played since a quarter-final exit to Jessica Pegula at the US Open in September and that perhaps told as she was broken in the opening game of the first two sets.
The Pole looked to be heading for defeat as she tumbled 3-0 down to Wimbledon champion Krejcikova in the second set but then won 13 of the next 17 games to triumph 4-6 7-5 6-2.
Swiatek – who still has an outside chance of regaining the world No 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka if she wins this tournament in Riyadh – rushed into a 5-0 lead in the deciding set.
A visibly fatiguing Krejcikova earned a break back to keep the match alive but then lost serve again as Swiatek wrapped up victory in a little over two and half hours.
Swiatek – who demolished Pegula 6-0 6-1 in last year’s final in Cancun – said of her comeback win over Krejcikova: “For sure it wasn’t easy. At the beginning I felt a bit rusty but I’m happy that I found a way to play a little bit more solid because at the beginning I didn’t feel great.
“I just tried to do my usual stuff, control the ball a bit more because it was flying from my racket. I knew I had that game in me. I just needed to find it.”
Swiatek was playing her first match under new coach Wim Fissette after splitting with Tomasz Wiktorowski earlier this month.
The 23-year-old had opportunities to break Krejcikova in the opening set, finding herself 0-30 up in the fourth game and 0-40 to the good in the sixth, but squandered those positions.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek came through in the end, though, to join Coco Gauff in getting her Orange Group campaign off to a winning start.
Gauff sees off error-strewn Pegula
Gauff defeated fellow American and occasional doubles partner Pegula 6-3 6-2, securing only a second win over her compatriot in six meetings and first on a hard court with her sole victory previously coming on the grass at Eastbourne in 2023.
Pegula – beaten by Sabalenka in the US Open final this year – put in an inconsistent display against Gauff, with a sizzling winner often followed by a series of errors.
The world No 6 hurled her racket to the floor in frustration in the fourth game of the second set and that seemed to transform her fortunes as she broke from 0-40 down.
But Pegula then made four blunders in a row from 40-15 up in the following game as Gauff broke back immediately for a 3-2 lead.
Gauff went on to take the next three games as well as Pegula’s inconsistency continued, closing out the match with a superb forehand on the run.
The 2023 US Open champion said of her win: “I am happy with how I played. Sometimes it was sloppy, sometimes it was great, but that’s tennis.
“We both played high level. I think I was just able to break through on some of those more important points.”
Monday at the WTA Finals, live on Sky Sports
The players in the Purple Group are back in action on Monday.
Elena Rybakina and Qinwen Zhengboth still seeking their first victory at this year’s tournament, meet from approximately 12.30pm.
It is then the battle of the opening-day winners as Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini lock horns from around 3pm.
