The Belarusian Aryna Sabalenkaworld number one, recovered from 36 unforced errors and advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Cancun after winning 6-2, 3-6 and 6-3 against the Kazakh Elena Rybakina.
In a significant match, which started this Thursday and was delayed several times by rain, Sabalenka closed better and entered the top four stages in second place in her group, behind the American Jessica Pegula.
Against an opponent far from her best, Sabalenka took advantage of eleven unforced errors from her rival to build an advantage from the first game where she broke Rybakina’s serve.
Again in the fifth ‘game’ Aryna determined the Kazakh’s serve and when she confirmed she escaped 5-1, the decisive margin to win the first set, stopped twice in rain and winds of up to 40 kilometers per hour.
Although she put thorns in her path with a double fault, in the second set Elena started to focus more. Sabalenka pressed her shots at high speed and broke in the third game, but could not confirm and the set was tied at 2-2. A break in the eighth gave Rybakina the win.
In the third, both had several chances to win and the key was that Sabalenka knew how to win the first and ninth games on her serve, which lasted more than 15 minutes.
Although he made 15 double faults, the Belarusian broke in the fourth, he did not confirm, but he did it again in the sixth to move to victory after giving up three match points.
“It’s about putting balls on the court, it’s played at a high level; it all makes us stronger,” Aryna said.
This Thursday Pegula defeated the Greek 6-3, 6-2 Maria Sakkari and finished the group stage with a perfect performance.
Pegula needed just 37 minutes to win the first set, taking advantage of 20 unforced errors from the Greek, five of them in the form of double faults.
After breaks on both sides at the start of the match, in the third game the American took the lead on the European’s serve and, after confirming, extended the lead to 3-1. Another breakup, with confirmation, led him to success.
In the second, Pegula again imposed conditions, winning 100 percent of the points on the first serve. He started with two breaks and never lost an advantage against an erratic opponent.
This Friday, at the end of the group stage, the Polish Iga Swiatek, second racket in the world, will try to maintain his perfect speed against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur and the American Coco Gauff, third player on the circuit, will find his place. in the semifinals against Czech Marketa Vondrousova.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
