Mirra Andreeva opened her campaign at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells with a convincing victory. The 19-year-old Russian defeated Elina Svitolina 6:4, 6:0 in 70 minutes in a Group 2 match.
Andreeva won the final seven games of the match and gave her opponent no chance to get back into it. The Russian held serve throughout the match, saving six break points, including four in the final game.
“I’m very happy that I managed to beat such an experienced opponent,” Andreeva said after the match.Andreeva thus took a 1:0 lead in Group 2 and levelled her head-to-head record against Svitolina at 2:1 in wins. The Ukrainian, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, lost her opening match at the tournament.
Gauff survives all-American clash
Coco Gauff also made a winning start, but had to come through a lengthy battle with Jessica Pegula. The American won 6:4, 6:7(5), 6:2 in two hours and 39 minutes.
Gauff took the first set, then missed a match point at 6:5 in the second. Pegula forced a tiebreak and levelled the score, but Gauff made an early break in the deciding set and took control of the match. It was her sixth victory over Pegula.
Noskova leaves Kostyuk no chance
Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk 6:2, 6:4 in her opening match at the WTA Finals. The match lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
The Czech won her third consecutive match against Kostyuk, having previously beaten her at Wimbledon and the US Open. Noskova took a 4:2 lead with a break in the second set and did not drop serve again.
Gauff and Noskova are both 1-0 in Group 1 and will meet in the next round. The winner will take an important step towards the semi-finals, while the loser will retain a chance of progressing in the tournament.
Sources: skysports.com, tntsports.co.uk