By Chris Oddo | Monday October 24, 2016
All was lost for Karolina Pliskova. Then, suddenly, all was forgotten.
The Czech used her short-term memory to shake off a bundle of mid-match troubles, saved a match point and surged to the finish, capturing the final five games to knock off Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in a wild battle at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
More: Jet-Lagged Kuznetsova Finds Enough Thrust to Oust Radwanska
Just moments earlier, Pliskova looked to be down and out. She had blown a break lead in the second set and failed to protect a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker. In the decider an emboldened Muguruza raced out to a 4-0 lead—then things got complicated.
Pliskova broke in an eight-deuce game to get to 4-2 but was subsequently broken at love in the next game. Surely Muguruza would ride that momentum to victory, right?
Think again.
Pliskova saved a match point and broke for 5-3, before holding for 4-5.
After a quick encounter with coach Sam Sumyk, Muguruza was quickly broken for 5-all. Cracks in her armor now, the Spaniard tossed in myriad errors and faded away as the steadier Pliskova’s surged to the finish line for a surprising, satisfying victory.
“I knew if I didn’t take my opportunities the first time it would be more complicated,” Muguruza lamented after the match.
Pliskova stretches her current winning streak over Muguruza to four matches. The Czech will face Svetlana Kuznetsova in her second Round Robin match on Wednesday.
Muguruza, who had not faced a Top 10 player since Roland Garros, will be facing elimination when she faces Agnieszka Radwanska on Wednesday.