Four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek beat American Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals in Mexico.
The American world No 3 felt the pressure from her Polish opponent, double-faulting four times in a row during the second set on Wednesday in Cancun.
The errors cost Gauff dearly as she gifted the upper hand to Swiatek, who triumphed 7-5 6-0 in their group-stage encounter.
“A tough day in the office for me,” Gauff, who also lost a doubles match Wednesday and recently took a two-week break for a shoulder injury, said. “I mentally didn’t stay in it when I was serving for it.
“I have done well throughout the year, serving well, so I’m not going to let [a] bad two games define how I serve.”
Gauff could not mount the comeback as Swiatek secured the win, as she aims to take back the world No 1 spot from Aryna Sabalenka.
The win means she is the first female player to record 65 or more tour-level wins in back-to-back seasons in nearly two decades.
Gauff struggled with double-faults in her match against Iga Swiatek
Swiatek is the only player to reach that number of wins in 2023 as well, with Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz with 64 and 63 wins respectively.
However, the 22-year-old lamented the number of empty seats in the temporary hard court for the match with Gauff, joining those who have already made criticisms of the event.
“It’s a shame that we don’t have a full stadium,” Swiatek said. “Hopefully for the future, there’s not going to be any more situation like that, and they’re going to work to improve that.”
She will take on Ons Jabeur in her final group match on Friday, with the Tunisian having beaten Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-3.
It was the first game between the pair since the Wimbledon final, Jabeur saving six of seven break points in the first set.
Jabeur took the second set after she broke Vondrousova at 3-3 and again after holding serve to set up a crucial match against Swiatek.