Barbora Krejcikova wins, Madison Keys falls in Zhuhai

No. 1 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic opened group play at the WTA Elite Trophy with a win, defeating No. 11 seed Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday in Zhuhai, China.

Krejcikova won the Azalea Group, one of four three-player groups in the round-robin event. She will face No. 6 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia on Wednesday, and with a victory, she will advance to the tournament semifinals.

The path isn't as clear for Madison Keys, the No. 2 seed, who was defeated by No. 8 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-4, 6-4 in the Camellia Group. Next up for Keys is No. 9 seed Caroline Garcia of France.

In the Rose Group, No. 12 seed Zhu Lin of China dropped the No. 5 seed, Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Play in the Orchid Group opens Wednesday with No. 7 seed Qinwen Zheng against No. 10 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia.