FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) —
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek took control with an eight-point run that launched a match-ending stretch in which she grabbed nine of 11 games for a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Caroline Garcia in round-robin action at
the WTA Finals on Thursday night.
Swiatek improved to 2-0 this week at
the season-closing tournament for the top eight women in tennis. She’s won all four sets she’s played so far while dropping a total of just 10 games.
By adding a victory over No. 6 Garcia to one against No. 8 Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday, Swiatek improved her 2022 record against opponents ranked in the top 10 to 14-1 — and those 14 wins were all in a row, the longest such single-season unbeaten streak on tour in 15 years.
The other singles group match scheduled for Thursday night at Dickies Arena was Kasatkina against
No. 4 Coco Gauff.
Garcia is the only entrant in the eight-player field who managed to defeat Swiatek this year — at the Poland Open in July, when Garcia was ranked just 45th — and she broke early in this one to lead 2-1.