Mexico, November 12 (BNA): Paula Padusa got off to a slow start but won 10 consecutive matches to beat top seed Arina Sabalenka 6-4 6-0 on Thursday in her opening match of the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka, ranked No. 2 in the world, dominated early in the game to lead 4-2, but Padusa recovered and won four games in a row to win the first set and then dominated the second with three breaks. .
Sabalenka, who has won titles in Abu Dhabi and Madrid this season, is the top seed in Mexico because world number one Ash Barty decided not to defend her WTA Finals title due to the ongoing coronavirus travel and quarantine restrictions.
Barty had to self-quarantine for two weeks when she returned home to Brisbane in September after the US Open and didn’t want to do the same again to travel to Mexico.
Badosa is going through a breakthrough season after starting the year at 70. The Spaniard will play her next match against Maria Scari, who used her powerful first serve to extend her dominance over former French Open champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2 6-4 victory earlier on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Scary, who is also having a distinguished year, also beat Swatek in straight sets in this year’s French Open quarter-finals and Ostrava semi-finals.
Scari started the year at 21, and although she did not win a title this season, she reached the final in Ostrava and the semi-finals at the US Open, Roland Garros and Miami becoming the first Greek woman to qualify for the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, who won titles in Adelaide and Rome in 2021, will make her debut in the season-ending tournament.
Scary won 26 of her first 27 points on her first serve and broke her opponent in games three and seven of the first set. Then I broke again to lead 4-3 on the second.
All players have to adjust their game at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico.
The tournament, which was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, features a group stage stage prior to the semi-finals.
The WTA Finals are only being held in Guadalajara this year, and the event is set to return to Shenzhen, China in 2022.
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