Tennis: Bautista Agut beats Safiullin in Barcelona
he Spaniard, who is chasing his 12th ATP Tour crown this week, will meet seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the second round.
Iga Swiatek looks intent on regaining her No.1 ranking as she defeated Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5 at the WTA Finals group match.
Swiatek is now 2-0 here, but has not officially qualified for the semifinals after Ons Jabeur beat Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets, WTA Tour reports.
The Pole is now in an excellent position to win the Chetumal Group and advance to the semifinals, pending the result of the later match. Gauff, meanwhile, will likely have to defeat Vondrousova on Friday to have a chance to lock down the second spot in the group.
Advertisement
With loss on Wednesday night, Gauff ended a 0-for-7 streak against Swiatek in the Cincinnati semifinals, but their past two matches have been one-sided. Gauff, 19, has been scorching hot since August, going back to her title in Washington, D.C., producing a record of 23-3. Two of those losses came to the World No.2.
Statistically, Gauff struggled, serving 10 times — with six breaks by Swiatek. The American finished with only five winners, against 30 unforced errors. Swiatek was 11 and 23 and was broken only once.
“I would say this match wasn’t consistent, in terms of the level,” Swiatek said. “So for sure, adjusting to everything that happened was the most important thing. It took me a while because I was a break down in the second set.
“I’m happy that I could actually problem solve a little the way to win these last games. And the key was, maybe being confident and mentally not focusing on the score, but really just sticking with the plan that worked in the first set.”
Advertisement
