Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza started her WTA Championships campaign with a 6-3 7-6(4) victory over Lucie Safarova in Singapore this afternoon.
In what was a battle of the tournament debutants, the Spaniard took control when she opened up a 3-1 lead in the opening set, which she eventually won in 49 minutes.
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Having committed four double faults during the first set, Safarova found her range during the next set and as a result a tie-breaker was forced.
Muguruza took a 4-2 advantage into the changeover, but despite the fact that her Czech opponent was able to respond with a mini-break, it did not stop the world number three from eventually winning through in straight sets.
She will now take on either Petra Kvitova or Angelique Kerber in her second group match on Wednesday.
Liam Apicella
