Dubai | The Hawks defeated The Kites to win the first World Tennis League

The Hawks won the inaugural World Tennis League Championship in Dubai with a 32-25 win over The Kites on Christmas Eve.

First, reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina upset world number one and three-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles opener, while Felix Auger-Alliassime beat Alexander Zverer and Dominic Thiem & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova dispatched Holger Rune and Sania Mirza. straight sets.

Swiatek had defeated all 3 of his opponents in the round robin stage of the invitational team competition without losing a single round robin group. She first faced Caroline Garcia of The Eagles, Pavljuchenkova of the Hawks and Aryna Sabalenka of the Falcons.

However, for the final, The Hawks decided to name Rybakina in favor of Pavlyuchenkova, and the gamble paid off as the Russian defeated the 21-year-old Pole 6-3 6-1.

It was a fascinating match between two great practitioners of modern power tennis.

Swiatek has shown her brilliance all year, notably winning Roland Garros and the US Open, while Rybakinas triumphed on tennis’ biggest stage when she won the title at Wimbledon.

The Russian-born Kazakh opened the match with an early break and despite facing 3 break points in the first 3 games, held a 3-0 lead.

Swiatek then broke to win 3 straight games to level the score at 3-3, but Rybakina went on another three-game winning streak and ended the first set with an ace that was sliced ​​wide on the second court.

Rybakina hit 3 aces and broke Swiatek 3 times while holding serve every single time to seal the second and victory after 1 hour and 2 minutes, giving the Hawks a 12-4 lead.

Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled one back for The Kites by beating Alexander Zverev, but it wasn’t enough to save the team from defeat at the hands of The Hawks.

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Leijat Auger-Aliassime from Canada cruised past Germany’s Zverev, 6-4 6-3, in the next men’s singles match.

Victories earlier this week over Novak Djokovic and Andreas Seppi showed how far Zverev has come since tearing ankle ligaments at Roland Garros in May, but a challenge from the in-form Auger-Aliassime revealed how far he still has to go.

The match began with several flurries, each of which was steady, powerful and able to dictate on both sides.

As things progressed, Auger-Aliassimes’ movement and precision, especially in the hand position, saw him lead several rallies.

With Zverev in action at 4-4, 40-30, the Canadian hit an excellent drop shot to tie the game and then, on a no-ad point, broke serve with a cracking volley.

Auger-Aliassime then played a solid game to end the set and remained in control throughout the second.

The Canadians’ win increased the team’s scoring, but the Hawks narrowly held the lead, 19-16.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Dominic Thiem sealed the WTA title for The Hawks with a sweep. Kites Sania Mirza and Holger Rune in straight sets in Dubai on Saturday

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Unlike in the group stages, the mixed doubles in the WTL final was the deciding rubber, reminiscent of one of tennis’ most admirable qualities, as no other sport has men and women competing against each other.

The Hawks looked to extend their lead by fielding strong veteran Pavlyuchenkova alongside Dominic Thiem, a feisty shot-maker who has struggled over the past two years with everything from the emotional demise of his 2020 US Open win to a wrist injury.

The kites featured a mix of old and new with the long-standing excellence of former world number one Sania Mirza and fast-rising teenager Holger Rune of Denmark.

As expected, the encounter pulses after a scintillating shot.

Pavlyuchenkova showed off her superb touch and versatility rarely seen in her singles matches, while the ever-smiling Rune showed off her superb foot-speed gliding aerial skills.

Mirzas on the ball and volleys had their moments, but for The Kites to have a chance to turn their luck around, Rune & Mirza had to secure the first set.

The two pairs traded breaks twice in the opening set en route to the tiebreak, and when a highly energetic Thiem surged at 4-5, 15-30, the Austrian chased the ball down and hit Mirza’s serving shot. the stage was set for a glorious climax.

The set soon went to the breaker, where Thiem was also a commanding figure, and he and Pavlyuchenkova finally grabbed it, 7-4, effectively wiping out any further hopes of reviving the kites.

The Hawks pair then earned themselves an early break in the second set and Thiem kicked a service winner on the T-line as he served at 5-3, 40-15 to wrap up the match and secure an impressive 32-25 win. Over the kites.

Elena Rybakina upset World Iga Swiatek in women’s singles rubber to give The Hawks the lead

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The World Tennis League is a hybrid of formats – World Team Tennis and Hopman Cup combined – and is a fast-paced, co-ed team competition that offers such departures from practice as ad-free scoring and an eye-straining gold gig field.

As an invitational exhibition event, the WTL offers a chance for a flock of world-class players to enjoy themselves over six days by showcasing their skills without ranking or records, while offering a rare opportunity to join forces with a diverse range of peers.

The mood was shown by the usually laser-focused Swiatek donning a Santa hat to cheer on his kite teammates after losing his singles with two matches remaining.

While exhibition events like this can also provide a vehicle to test new ideas worth considering at other events, there is a danger that the core of the traditional game may be lost.

In particular, the no-ad rule and the sudden death of a match tiebreak limit a player’s ability to fight back, which is an essential part of the sport.

On top of that, the World Tennis League in Dubai is proving to be a good warm-up event for the top players looking at the new team competition, the United Cup, an official ATP/WTA event that will carry the weight, starting in Australia on Thursday. both rankings and records.