Sofia Kenin is continuing her tremendous week in Abu Dhabi by besting Aryna Sabalenka and basically ensuring that her team, the Eagles, win the 2023 World Tennis League.
After three doubles matches, the World Tennis League final continued with the first singles match. It was Sofia Kenin and Aryna Sabalenka, with the former team having a 4-point lead. A win for Kenin basically would have ensured the Eagles the victory, and that's what she was able to do.
Sabalenka looked decent all week long, but Sofia Kenin was even more impressive. Nobody really expected her to produce a stunning effort in both singles and doubles but here she is playing some of the best tennis she played in a very long time.
The match started solidly for both players as neither really created too much pressure on the other player. Kenin served well and played well on her serve, not allowing Sabalenka anything. The Belarusian had a high serve percentage as well but also two double faults by the time the score was 4-2 for Kenin.
The problem for Sabalenka was allowing a break point to Kenin and then not saving it. She simply didn't play that crucial few rallies better and that was essentially the match. The American looked more comfortable and played the crucial rallies better. Sometimes it's just that simple.
A huge win for Kenin as she put the Eagles up by 6 points which means that just one game in the final match ensures them the win. The final score of the match was 6-4 for the American as she concluded a really strong week in Abu Dhabi by giving her team the 25-19 lead.
The Kites looked amazing all week long but not having Tsitsipas fully and the Badosa’s and Sabalenka’s loss in the doubles really destroyed their chances.
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