Latvian-Taiwanese pair edged 12-10 in deciding tie-break of season-ending doubles opener

Jeļena Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei opened their campaign at the WTA Finals doubles in Indian Wells with a defeat. The fifth-seeded pair lost 6-3, 1-6, 12-10 in the match tie-break to Guo Hanyu of China and Kristina Mladenovic of France on Monday local time, early on Tuesday morning in Latvia, according to WTA data.

How it happened

Ostapenko and Hsieh took the first set 6-3, but their opponents levelled with a 6-1 second set. As is usual in doubles, a match tie-break to ten points replaced a third set. A two-point margin was needed, and Guo and Mladenovic only secured it at 12-10.

The group

Four pairs play in the first group. In the opening round, favourites Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani beat Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 7-6, so Dabrowski and Stefani and Guo and Mladenovic now have one win each, while Ostapenko and Hsieh and Mertens and Zhang have one defeat each.

• Wednesday, 11 November, local time: Ostapenko/Hsieh v Mertens/Zhang (most likely overnight into Thursday in Latvia).
• Final group match: Ostapenko/Hsieh v Dabrowski/Stefani.
• The top two pairs from each group reach the semi-finals; the final is on Sunday, 15 November.

Wednesday's match pits the two pairs without a win against each other, and the losers' chances of reaching the semi-finals will be slim. Last year Ostapenko and Hsieh reached the semi-finals of this event. Total prize money is $10 million, of which $2 million goes to the doubles.