Singapore — Karolina Pliskova put on a ruthless display of big hitting on Sunday to swat aside crowd favourite Venus Williams 6-2 6-2 in the opening match of the WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The 37-year-old Williams was making her first appearance since 2009 at the elite eight-woman event but her Czech opponent hit the ground running and never looked back after she broke the American’s serve early in the first set of the group match. The strategy was pretty much established in the opening game, with Williams, the 2008 champion, looking to come to the net whenever possible, while Pliskova was more than happy to rely on her powerful groundstrokes from the baseline. Pliskova found her range immediately for a routine hold in the first game but Williams struggled when it was her turn to serve as the Czech capitalised on some sloppy play from the American to break with a booming forehand. A flustered Williams settled in the fourth game to finally get on the scoreboard with ...
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