GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Anett Kontaveit extended her hot streak by defeating second-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-4, in the opening match at the WTA Finals in Mexico on Wednesday.
The eighth-seeded Kontaveit had early breaks in both sets to beat the French Open champion in just 75 minutes for her 11th consecutive victory.
Kontaveit has now won 27 of her past 29 matches, which include her title run at Ostrava where she defeated Paula Badosa and Maria Sakkari, both of whom are competing in the season-ending WTA Finals.
The tournament is being played in Guadalajara for this year only, with the event scheduled to return to Shenzhen, China in 2022.
Kontaveit, a 25-year-old Estonian, soared from No. 30 to No. 8 in the rankings in less than two months and edged out Ons Jabeur for the last Finals spot by beating Simona Halep in the final of the Transylvania Open.
Krejcikova, the only reigning major champion in the field, started the year ranked 65th but the Czech Republic player captured three titles to qualify for the season-ending competition.
The tournament, which was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, is played in a round-robin format with the singles champion lifting the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy.
The event has a total prize pool of $5 million and is being played at the Akron Tennis Stadium in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.