The Kites led by Iga Swiatek topped the table with 113 points at the end of round robin group at the inaugural edition of the World Tennis League at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai. The Hawks finished second with 106 points. The Kites will face the Hawks in the final on Saturday.
Alexander Zverev, who beat Novak Djokovic in the opening day, beat Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-2.
“I want to win every tournament I play. That’s my character. I don’t go to events just to take part of them. I play when I feel I can win a tournament. The size of the event, Grand Slam or not, will not be the point”, said Zverev.
Zverev’s win over Seppi earned the Hawks a spot in the final after Nick Kyrgios and Bianca Andreescu had given the Eagles a lead in the doubles beating Dominic Thiem and Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 4-6 10-7.
This year’s Wimbledon champion earned the Hawks a 7-5 6-1 win over 2022 WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia.
Holger Rune and Sania Mirza overcame Grigor Dimitrov and Paula Badosa 6-2 4-6 10-5 at the World Tennis League in Dubai.
Rune and Mirza cruised through to a 6-2 win in the first set. Dimitrov and Badosa fought back by winning the second set 6-4 forcing the match to the decider.
Rune and Mirza took an early lead in the match tie-break and held it until the end to clinch the match tie-break.
This year’s Roland Garros and US Open champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Aryna Sabalenka 6-1 6-3. Swiatek broke three times to win the first set 6-1. Both players traded breaks twice in the second set. Swiatek won the final three games including a break to close out the second set 6-3 extending her team’s lead in the lead.
Novak Djokovic beat Sebastian Ofner 6-7 (6-7) 6-0 10-7 in a very entertaining match, but his win was not enough to secure his team Falcons a spot in the final. Ofner stepped in for Felix Auger Aliassime, who was supposed to play for the Kites, but was forced to pull out of the match due to a last-minute.
Djokovic earned an early break to take a 3-0 lead in the first set. Ofner broke back to draw level to 3-3. Ofner broke for the second set after a double fault from Djokovic to close out the first set 7-5. Djokovic bounced back by breaking three times to take a bagel win in the second set. Djokovic edged Ofner 10-7 in the match tie-break.
Even though Djokovic won his match, the earlier losses in the mixed doubles and women’s singles kept the Falcons out of contention for a spot in the final.
Djokovic finished the tournament with a defeat and a win. Earlier this week Djokovic lost to Alexander Zverev 3-6 4-6 in his first singles match. “Ofner serves well. He is tricky”, said Djokovic.
