World Tennis League: Sabalenka steers Kites into final, will face Eagles

The world No 2 sealed her team’s place in the final

(Icon SMI/Panoramic)

December 23, 2023

Aryna Sabalenka was the superstar as she trounced world No 1 Iga Swiatek to secure a 6-4 win for the Kites over the Hawks – and steer them into the World Tennis League final.

More than that, she did it on the Pole’s serve, hitting deep, and peppering the winners down the line.

“I feel like it’s a tactic for this season…it’s always great battles against Iga, I always enjoy sharing the court with her and I’m super happy to bring some points for my team,” she said after putting the Kites back on top of the group.

The Kites will now face the Eagles in Sunday’s final.

Ruud: I went for the win

It left Hawks’ Casper Ruud with the toughest of tasks – it was possible for his team to still qualify for the final, but only if he won in a super tiebreak, because the points they required could not be obtained even from a 6-0 set.

And when Dimitrov’s return went long, giving Ruud a 6-4 win and a 20-19 victory in the tie overall, leaving them in bottom in the standings, the Norwegian couldn’t help but laugh – particularly when he was met off court by his team-mates booing him good-naturedly.

“It was a possibility, but I had the chance to win the set so I went for it,” he said afterwards.

“Unfortunately Casper won,” laughed team-mate Swiatek, turning to him and saying: “All you had to do was win 7-6 and then the tiebreaker!”