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Bencic’s deserved title, plus other lessons learned from inaugural Abu Dhabi Open
The inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open came to a close on Sunday with Swiss Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic becoming the tournament’s first winner.
The world No. 9 put on a heroic run in the final, saving three match points late in the second set to overcome a mighty Russian Lyudmila 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 · Samsonova.
Here’s what we learned from the WTA 500-level event in the UAE capital.
Bencic moves on
That week in Abu Dhabi further solidified what we already knew — that Bencic is in great shape and she’s off to a stellar start to the 2023 campaign.
The 25-year-old has now won two titles in a matter of months – she also won in Adelaide in January – and her success at the Emirates has seen her head to the top of the season with 12 victories. The top of the WTA match wins leaderboard has lost just two games.
Bencic is 0-3 against Samsonova heading into the final and struggled to make any progress on Russia’s serve in the first eight games of Sunday’s clash.
She dug deep to create the opening in the second set, but failed to serve at 5-3 when Samsonova forced a tiebreak and was broken. Bencic found his footing at the break, salvaged three championship points with some sheer effort and somehow walked away with the trophy.
Bencic joked about the “Tursanov effect” earlier in the week, referring to her coach Dmitry Tursanov, who joined her before the start of the season. Kudos to her team on Sunday for helping her hold on to the ferocious Samsonova.
“I’m glad I kept my head really strong. Sometimes you might say, ‘Okay, this is match point, I’m going to get out of here, I lost, and walk away mentally. But I didn’t Think. I feel like my team is pushing me to go for it, especially in the tiebreak,” Bencic said after the win.
Bencic, who flew straight to Doha for the Qatar Open after the Abu Dhabi final, will be hoping to translate her success on the smaller tours into big events as she continues her search for a first Grand Slam trophy.
“It’s a title, one every month now and hopefully (will) continue,” joked the Swiss, referring to her trophy tally so far this season.
“I really appreciate it. It’s not like looking at the headlines before a game; of course you want to win, but you win game by game. Every game you play has a tough draw. You can give your best every week . I feel like I’ve improved a lot and firmly believe that I can win championships and hopefully major championships. I just want to give myself a chance and work hard for it.”
Samsonova close to top 10
She came very close to extending her perfect record in the WTA finals to 5-0, and despite the loss, Samsonova can take a lot of positives from her week in Abu Dhabi.
The 24-year-old will make his top-15 debut on Monday and has the firepower to threaten the best players on tour.
Samsonova lost her start to the season in a tight second-round clash with Aryna Sabalenka in Adelaide. Sabalenka has yet to lose a match in 2023 — a perfect 11-0 — and scored her first Grand Slam by beating Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final last month. Champion title.
Both Sabalenka and Rybakina are playing power games that have won them major trophies, while Samsonova, who also has the same brand of prosperous tennis, is drawing confidence and inspiration from her big-name hitters.
“In Adelaide, I played against Aryna and I was the first player to go 7-6, 7-6 with her because she’s unbeatable right now. I had a chance and I felt very confident. They were both Big guys, my game is similar and I can improve from them,” Samsonova said.
Abu Dhabi is a welcome addition to the Middle East swing
The WTA schedule is known to be heavily impacted by the suspension of all events in China and Russia, and it will not be easy to create a seamless schedule that does not force players to play back and forth across the globe.
So when players found out that Abu Dhabi was hosting a 500-player tournament that would extend the Middle East to three weeks, many jumped at the chance to get involved, knowing that 2,000 ranking points and some lucrative Prize money can be competed in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai in February.
“When I found out about the game, everyone was so happy. My team said, ‘Okay, let’s go there,’ because it’s great to stay here and have an hour of flying time between each game. . I like these types of things. For us players, it’s very helpful,” Samsonova said.
Abu Dhabi top seed Daria Kasatkina shared Samsonova’s feelings and explained how tough last year was, with long treks in the tour each week.
“It’s been amazing. Especially compared to the end of last year,” Kasatkina said of the three-week Middle East swing.
“There’s a stretch of Tokyo, Ostrava, Santiago, Guadalajara, and then if you qualify for the WTA Finals, then Fort Worth. So it’s crazy. I know it’s because we’ve met over the years. All the situations that I’ve seen, but it’s been crazy to be honest, it’s hard to enjoy the game and enjoy the work when you’re exhausted.
“Traveling, plus jet lag, plus going to Guadalajara, I was going crazy, to be honest, because of the altitude. It was hard. So when we had a series of races in the same country , will definitely be better.”
Organizers consider first year a success
Tournament owner IMG moved WTA sanctions from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Abu Dhabi, announcing the move just three weeks before kick-off.
It gave organizers limited time to promote the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, but by the end of the week, the stadium looked 60 to 70 percent full and the tennis village came alive for the weekend.
“It went really well. We had five weeks to prepare and it’s been a very successful year,” IMG tennis tournament director Vickie Gunnarsson told Arab News.
“Operationally, everything went really well. We had nine players in the top 20. Such a huge success, a lot of partners came to support us and we played really well all week.”
Gunnarsson believes the event has all the ingredients necessary to make it a major annual event on the UAE’s sporting calendar, and dismisses any suggestion that the market may be saturated with three events taking place in the Gulf in the same month.
“I think it’s a very positive for the region, especially for women’s tennis, but also for the players because they can stay in one place and not have to travel a lot, it’s a great way to get a lot of rankings Scored in one place early in the season, so it’s great for them,” she said.
“For the area, I think it’s also great. It’s supporting women’s professional tennis, the influx of tourists, and it’s really empowering women in every aspect of society, they can see role models and believe I can do something with my life, regardless What, if I have big dreams, it can become a reality.”
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