CANCUN, Mexico — Iga Swiatek climbed out of a deep early hole against Marketa Vondrousova at the WTA Finals and then pulled away by dominating the second set for a 7-6 (3), 6-0 victory in round-robin action Monday.
U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff was scheduled to face three-time major runner-up Ons Jabeur in the other singles match on Day 2.
Swiatek, who won the French Open in June for her third Grand Slam title, is ranked No. 2 and has a chance to overtake Aryna Sabalenka at No. 1, depending on their results at the season-ending championships.
The left-handed Vondrousova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, broke in three of Swiatek’s initial four service games en route to a 5-2 edge at the outset. Swiatek had trouble finding her range on the temporary outdoor hard court that has drawn criticism from some players at the event: She was responsible for 13 of the match’s first 16 unforced errors.
Vondrousova served for that set at 5-2 and 5-4, but Swiatek began turning things around and grabbed 13 of 17 points in one stretch. What became a four-game run put Swiatek ahead 6-5.
At 3-all in the tiebreaker, Swiatek took over for good. She smacked a big forehand winner, collected a service winner and hit her first ace of the evening to get to set point, before Vondrousova double-faulted to end it.
That set took 64 minutes. The second lasted just 35, with Swiatek holding a 27-9 edge in points.