Anett Kontaveit’s recent surge in form is showing no signs of stopping after she cruised to a straight sets win over Barbora Krejcikova in her first match at the WTA Finals.
Kontaveit, who is the first Estonian player in history to participate in the season-ending tournament, broke her Czech rival twice to secure a 6-3, 6-4, win. It is the 11th match in a row she has won after clinching back-to-back titles in Europe at the Kremlin Cup and Transylvania Open. To put that into perspective, the WTA record for most wins in a row in 2021 currently stands at 15 which Krejcikova achieved earlier this year.
Playing at high altitude (5500 meters above sea level), Kontaveit had to contend with rapid ball speed as well as her opponent. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old proved to be the more consistent of the two as she at times benefitted from some costly errors coming from across the court. Best illustrated in the first set when Krejcikova hit three consecutive unforced errors that enabled the Estonian to break for a 3-1 lead before closing out the opener in just 31 minutes. It was a similar pattern in the second frame with Kontaveit securing a single break in her favour which was enough to see her over the finish line.
“I’m definitely very happy to get the win today,” said the world No.8 who hit 17 winners against 16 unforced errors. “I mean, it was such a tough match and I really had to fight hard for it (the win).’
“I think the serve played a big part. The first serve definitely helped. I could have made a couple more of them but I was just trying to stay tough and get as many balls back on the court as I could.” She added.
Despite her win, Kontaveit still has work to do if she wants to progress beyond the group stage. Later in the week she will play Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova who are the only players in this year’s field to have previously played in the WTA Finals. Nevertheless, she is relishing the experience.
“It’s really special to be here (at the WTA Finals). I’m really proud that I managed to pull this off. I’m just enjoying being here, being in Mexico, enjoying the food and just being out on the court.” said Kontaveit.
Kontaveit has now won 37 matches on a hard court this season which is more than any other player on the WTA Tour.
