Aryna Sabalenka totally overpowered struggling Maria Sakkari to win her first match at the 2023 WTA Finals 6-0, 6-1.
The 2023 WTA Finals started with a solid match between Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina, which saw the American win. After that, the world no. 1 took on a player who ranked ninth in 2023 but still qualified for the tournament.
The reason is simple. Karolina Muchova was forced to withdraw from the tournament, and as a result, Sakkari replaced the Czech player in Cancun. However, her first match was certainly far from what she imagined.
Sabalenka is fighting for the world no. 1 spot in Cancun, and in her first match, she showed that she is all business in the Mexican city, ruthlessly destroying her opponent, and giving up only one game.
However, despite the scoreboard showing a dominant result, many times, the match wasn't so dominant. In the opening set, Sakkari troubled her opponent in almost all of the games, and she even had two game points in the second game and four break points in the third game.
Yet, after the Greek player couldn't use any of her chances in the first set, Sabalenka started her 2023 WTA Finals campaign in the possible way, winning the opening set 6-0.
At the WTA Finals, every set and every game won counts, as in case of a tie in the group stage, those may decide. That's why even despite winning the first set dominantly, the Belarusian never lifted her foot off the gas pedal.
Once again, Sakkari had a break point and three game points in the set, but very quickly, she faced two match points at 6-0, 5-0, 40-15, but the Greek player never gave up.
Despite nearly tearing up, Sakkari kept fighting and won one game, as Sabalenka eventually cruised towards a 6-0, 6-1 win. The Belarusian made everything needed to come one step closer to the semifinals, and while the result may seem disastrous for the Greek player, she's still not out.
At any other tournament, she would fly back home, but at the WTA Finals, despite losing 0-6, 1-6, Sakkari can still make it to the semifinals, but to do that, she needs to beat both Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.
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