Karolina Pliskova put on a ruthless display to ease past crowd favourite Venus Williams with a straight-sets opening victory at the WTA Tour Finals.
It took just over an hour for the Czech to dismiss Williams 6-2 6-2 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday as the 37-year-old was unable to make an impact in sister Serena’s absence.
‘I think my serve was pretty good today but the scoreline makes it look easier than it was,’ Pliskova said on her first season finale victory.
Karolina Pliskova eased past Williams 6-2 6-2 for her first WTA tour finals victory on Sunday
Williams’ return to the tour finals was tarnished by Pliskova at the Singapore Indoor Stadium
The American struggled as she quickly fell to a 4-1 deficit in the first set
‘There are no easy matches in Singapore so you have to be ready from the first point. That’s what I was trying to do today and it worked.’
Pliskova never looked back after she broke the American’s serve early in the first set of the group match and her strategy was pretty much established in the opening game as Williams, the 2008 champion, looked to come to the net whenever possible, while Pliskova was happy to rely on her powerful groundstrokes from the baseline.
The Czech was too strong for the 2008 champion as she powered through the first set
Pliskova found her range immediately for a routine hold in the first game but Williams struggled in her opening service game as the Czech capitalised on some sloppy play from the American to break with a booming forehand.
A flustered Williams – making her first tour finals appearance since 2009 – settled in the fourth game to finally get on the scoreboard with a second ace of the match and, after the pair exchanged breaks, Pliskova moved 5-2 ahead with a sumptuous volley.
Another double fault gave the World No 3 her first set point and she duly wrapped up the opener in 32 minutes when Williams went long with an errant backhand.
The second set began with both players holding comfortably before Pliskova edged ahead in a pivotal third game when she fended off two break points with a brilliant volley and an ace before sending down two more huge serves to stay in control.
Williams was now struggling for both range and control and Pliskova, buoyed up by the tough hold in the previous game, pounced on another poor sequence of points from her opponent to break again and surge clear.
And made quick work of the former World No 1 as she finished the match in 74 minutes
Williams is sent packing and has it all to do ahead of her second match on Tuesday
Pliskova held to love for a 5-2 lead before a big forehand winner brought up three match points and, while Williams played her best tennis of the match to stave them off, a wayward backhand on the fourth gifted her opponent victory in just 74 minutes.
Spanish second seed Garbine Muguruza will face French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the second White Group round-robin match of the day later on Sunday.
World No 1 Simona Halep will kick-start the Red Group on Monday against season finale debutant Caroline Garcia, followed by fourth seed Elina Svitolina’s clash with Caroline Wozniacki.