Garbine Muguruza and Lucie Safarova opened the White Group action on Monday with the Spaniard winning 6-3 7-6(4).
Just hours after officially rising to world No.3 ranking and becoming the first player born after 1991 to crack Top 3, the 22-year-old Muguruza showed no hesitation in recording a victory in her WTA Finals debut, even though her opponent played well. In the first set Muguruza faced no break points and converted two of her nine, while the battle intensified in the second set and even though Muguruza's performance dipped, she got her high level back in the tiebreak, confidently and fearlessly grabbing what she deserves.