Abu Dhabi [UAE], December 22 : TSL Hawks emerged victorious in a closely contested last league stage encounter, as they defeated Kites 20-17 at the iconic Etihad Arena on Saturday in the World Tennis League Season 3.
With this win, the TSL Hawks secured second place on the points table with 67 points and will face the table toppers Game Changers Falcons, who finished the league sage with 68 points. Game Changers Falcons advanced to the Final despite a loss earlier in the day, thanks to their consistent performance throughout the campaign.
Meanwhile, Kites finished third with 63 points, while HonorFX Eagles, who registered their first win earlier today, ended the season in fourth place with 54 points. Interestingly, Game Changers Falcons and TSL Hawks also faced each other in the first match of this season.
In the match today, TSL Hawks' Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva extended their impressive form with a commanding start in the women's doubles, racing to a 4-0 lead. While the Kites' duo of Simona Halep and Jasmine Paolini managed to break serve and pull a game back, Sabalenka and Andreeva quickly regained control and sealed the set 6-1 in dominant fashion for TSL Hawks.
Teenager Andreeva then built on her momentum with a remarkable performance against Paolini in the women's singles. Andreeva broke Paolini's third serve to take a 3-2 lead and held her next serve to create a two-game cushion before comfortably closing out the set 6-4.
In the men's doubles, Nick Kyrgios and Casper Ruud broke Sumit Nagal and Jordan Thompson to love, taking an early 2-1 lead. Nagal and Thompson did equalise immediately with a break, but their opponents regained the advantage and went on to close the set 6-4, narrowing the overall deficit to 11-16.
In the men's singles, Casper Ruud broke Sumit Nagal's second serve to gain advantage, leading the set 4-1. While the Indian star showed resilience, he trailed throughout as Ruud closed the set 6-3, taking the game to Over Time with an overall score of 17-19 for the Kites.
In Over Time, Nagal held his serve to help his team not only secure a 20-17 win over Kites but also a place in the Finals of the competition.
Speaking after the game, Nagal said as quoted by the WTL press release, "Any final is good, doesn't matter what type of format you are playing. I think everyone's playing well, everyone's happy with the way we have been performing. Tomorrow, it will be just another day, another sets."
His teammate, Thompson added, "We are here to win. We have got a great team, it's been an incredible campaign so far, and we would like to continue the momentum."
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