Most tennis fans didn’t know what to expect in Sunday’s WTA Finals match between Iga Swiatek and Barbora Krejcikova. Swiatek had not played since the US Open and he shook it coaching staffwhile Krejcikova had only won five matches since her Wimbledon title.

With few expectations other than an exciting match, the two players did not disappoint. Swiatek won a thrilling three-set match to secure her first victory in the group stage: 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Coming into today’s match, Krejcikova and Swiatek had split their previous four meetings. It took Swiatek a set and a half to shake off the rust. The WTA World No. 2 found herself trailing 3-0 in the second set before rallying to force a deciding set.

Swiatek carried that momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. However, Krejcikova would not go away easily. He won two sets before finally losing the deciding set.

Second-seeded Swiatek will face the winner of the next match between third-seeded Coco Gauff and sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula on Tuesday, November 5. Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Krejcikova will face the loser of that match on the same day.

Swiatek he said after the game“It wasn’t easy. At first I felt rusty, but I’m happy to have found a more solid way of playing. I didn’t feel very good at the beginning. Barbora took advantage of that. The score moved on quickly. I knew it was tight even in the first set. I had my chances and I just wanted to take advantage of them next time.”

Swiatek never stopped believing and neither did his fans. “I heard it for sure. I missed it. In the difficult moments today, when I heard you shouting, it helped me. Thank you all for the support and encouragement… Although at first my game was not so pleasant, you still believed “

We are less than 24 hours away from the WTA Finals and the final picture is starting to take shape. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated news Serve in YES to know the most important sports news.