Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva have clinched another dominant win at the World Tennis League after crushing Simona Halep and Jasmine Paolini.
In the opening rubber the Team Hawks and Team Kites tie, the world No. 1 and the rising Russian star claimed a convincing 6-1 win in just 21 minutes of play.
During the match, the three-time Grand Slam champion and the 17-year-old won 77 percent of their first serve points and also converted all three of their break point opportunities.
For the 26-year-old and Andreeva, this was their third doubles victory in Abu Dhabi this week. Previously, they beat Elena Rybakina and Garcia on Thursday before also handing out a loss to Iga Swiatek and Paula Badosa on Friday.
Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva© Team Sabalenka/Instagram – Fair Use
Now, the world No. 17 – who is one of the most promising and talented players in the game – will stay on the court to clash two-time Grand Slam runner-up Paolini in singles.
How Sabalenka and Andreeva overcame Halep and Paolini?
The start of the match was a one-sided battle as the Belarusian and Russian easily earned back-to-back breaks to open a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Down by a double break, the Romanian and the Italian managed to clinch their first break point chance via a deciding point and realize it to finally get on the board.
But then, Halep and Paolini missed out on two game points in the following game as Sabalenka and Andreeva went 5-1 up and again opened a double-break lead.
And with a chance to serve out for the match, the world No. 1 and the 17-year-old didn’t miss out on the chance to close out the contest.
Tennis World USA