Giuliana Olmos looks at the balls while standing next to Sharon Fichman.

Photo : Martin Sidorjak

Canada’s lone representative at the WTA Finals, Sharon Fichman, got off to a rough start in the group stage as she and partner Giuliana Olmos were beaten in straight sets by the top seeds on Thursday night in Guadalajara.

Fichman and Olmos were given a tough draw when they were scheduled to face French Open and Olympic champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in their first match and the top team lived up to their billing, overpowering the Rome champions 6-4, 6-1.

With the partisan Mexican crowd at their backs, Fichman and Olmos, playing in her home country of Mexico, put up a strong fight. However, they could not match the firepower of the Czechs, who ripped 32 to winners to their opponents 11. They also won 65 percent of Fichman and Olmos’ second serve points.

The Canadian-Mexican duo found themselves under pressure from the top seeds right from the start, as Olmos had to save a break point in the opening game. In Fichman’s first service game, Siniakova ripped a backhand winner to secure the early break.

Fichman responded with a volley winner on break point to level the set at 3-all, but Siniakova returned the favour in the next game to put the Czech team back in front.

Krejcikova, who lost her opening singles match yesterday, looked shaky at times in the opening set, but got the job done as she served out the opening set 6-4.

After an up-and-down first set, the top seeds stamped their authority early in the second, breaking Olmos in the first game. They made it a double break the next time the Mexican served when Siniakova hit a drop volley winner on a deciding point.

There was no stopping the Czech team, as they finished the match on a four-game run, breaking Fichman two wrap up the victory in 72 minutes.

Fichman and Olmos will play their second group stage match on Saturday. It will effectively be a must-win as only the top two teams in each group will advance to the semi-finals.

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