Muguruza blows golden opportunity against Pliskova in Singapore

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska opened up Monday’s play in Singapore with a brilliant, back-and-forth three-set match that featured dynamic shots, dramatic plot twists and an upset of the reigning champion.

In the following duel at the year-end WTA Finals, Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza somehow managed to upstage them.

Pliskova, making her WTA Finals debut, looked like a U.S. Open finalist in the first set. The world No. 5 promptly took it 6-2, and that’s when things got interesting.

Muguruza, one of the streakiest players on tour, leveled the match after eking out the second set. The French Open champion, looking like a player who went just 12-9 after winning Roland Garros, fell behind 3-1 before coming back to force a tiebreaker, which she won 7-4.

In the decider, the world No. 6 carried her momentum to a 4-0 lead, and despite dropping a 15-minute marathon on serve at 4-1, Muguruza responded to take a 5-2 lead and put the Czech on the brink.

When Pliskova saved a match point in that game and subsequently broke, it seemed like the worm had turned. The hard-serving 24-year-old proceeded to go on a run and take the next four games to escape with a mammoth 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5 victory.