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The kite team, led by women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, topped the four-team table with 113 points at the end of the five-day round robin
Novak Djokovic serves against Sebastian Ofner in Dubai on Friday. — Photo by Neeraj Murali.
Team Kite and Eagle will battle it out for the title in the inaugural World Tennis Tournament (WTA) at the Coca-Cola Arena on Saturday night, just hours before Santa arrives with his sack of presents.
Led by women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, the Kites topped the four-team table with 113 points at the end of the five-day round-robin, while the Eagles came in second with 106 points.
The Hawks are third with 89 points, five more than the bottom-placed Falcons, which boasts former world No. 1 and 21-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
Aleksander Zverev matched Djokovic on the opening day of the tournament as he eased past Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-2 to give the Eagles another superb performance Performance.
Zverev is brimming with confidence as he becomes the first German man to win an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics after a big win over Djokovic.
“I want to win every game I play. That’s my character,” he said. “I don’t go to events just to be a part of it. I play when I feel like I can win a game. The size of the event, Grand Slam or not, is not the point. It’s about my comfort on the court .”
And the German, also a former ATP Tour Finals champion, looked completely relaxed on the orange and blue hard courts of the Coca-Cola Arena, hitting the ball with confidence and celebrating every point.
“I feel good about myself. I think I’m still maturing as a player and I want to use all the experience I’ve had in the last nine years on tour,” he said.
“I don’t have any goals for the new year, but I just want to be the best version of myself and the rest will happen naturally.”
Eagles beat Dominic Thiem and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 4-6, 10-7 as Nick Kyrgios and Bianca Andreescu help In the end, the Eagles took the lead in the doubles match, and Zverev defeated Seppi to push the Eagles into the final.
However, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina also impresses last week as she beat WTA Finals winner Carolina Garcia 7-5, 6-1 to equalize for the Eagles .
Even though Djokovic’s second one-on-one matchup against Sebastian Offnell between the Falcons and Eagles was of academic value, it was the most entertaining game of the night.
Despite pulling out of Wednesday’s scheduled match against Kyrgyzstan due to “feeling unwell,” the Serbian showed off his 21 Grand Slam title-winning skills before overcoming the big-serving Austrian, Offner 6 -7 6-0 10-7.
The on-court microphones also picked up some amusing banter between Djokovic and his teammates during matches, including insight into the details of his racket, singing ability and respect for his opponents.
“It’s a game of experience and age versus youth and strength,” Djokovic told his players before saluting Offner’s brilliant serve.
“The guy is really serving well. He’s crafty,” said the Serb, who upped the ante after losing the first set, washing out his young opponent in the second before tying the match in a super tie-break. Take it to another level and end the year on a winning note.
A total of 18 world-class players participated in the World Tennis League. They were divided into four teams and competed in a round-robin format, including a men’s singles match, a women’s singles match and a mixed doubles match.
One point for each game won in a tie, one point for each game won in the third-set tie-break, and five points for a tie. The top two teams with the most points qualify for Saturday’s Christmas Eve final.
The Kite team also has Felix Auger-Aliassime, Eugenie Bouchard, Sania Mirza and Holger Rune, while the Falcons also have Grigor Dimitrov, Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka.
The Eagles consisted of Aleksander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Alena Plyuchenkova/Dominic Thiem, Alena Plyuchenkova and Elena Rybakina, while The Hawks consisted of Nick Kyrigios, Andreas Seppi, Bianca Andreescu and Carolina Garcia.
result
Eagles beat Eagles 2-1 (40-24 points)
Bianca Andreescu/Nick Kyrgios (Eagle) defeated Aryna Pvlyuchenkova/Dominic Thiem (Eagle) 6-4 4-6 (10-7)
Elena Rybakina (Hawks) defeated Carolina Garcia (Hawks) 7-5 6-1
Showdown 4-1
Alexander Zverev (Hawks) defeated Andreas Seppi (Hawks) 6-4 6-2
Kite beat Falcons 2-1 (36-26 points)
Sania Mirza/Holger Rune (Kites) defeated Paula Badosa/Grigor Dimitrov (Falcons)
6–2, 4–6, [10–5]
Iga Swiatek (Kites) defeated Aryna Sabalenka (Falcons) 6-1 6-3
Novak Djokovic (Falcons) vs Sebastian Ofner (Kites) 6-7 6-0 10-7
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