Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka won their respective round-robin matches at the 2022 WTA Finals on Monday. The first day of play of the season-ender featured the Nancy Richey Group.
Sakkari, seeded fifth bested the third-seeded Jessica Pegula in two hours and 11 minutes. The Greek won in two tie-break sets, 7-6(6), 7-6(4). The match featured four breaks of serve each. In the second set, Pegula faced two match points but saved them both to enforce the tie-break which then went her opponentās way.
This round-robin match was a rematch of their clash in the final of the Guadalajara Open, two weeks prior. Back then, Pegula had claimed the win over Sakkari, overcoming a 1-3 deficit in their head-to-head.
After the win, Sakkari shared, āI was very aggressive. If youāre passive, Jess is just going to make you run ā sheās going to hit the ball very hard, and itās over.ā
WTA Finals: Aryna Sabalenka leaves Ons Jabeur in the dust
Meanwhile, the seventh-seeded Sabalenka got the better of the second-seeded Ons Jabeur in their match-up. Sabalenka came from a set down to post a 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 after almost two-and-a-half hours of play.
It was a slow-serving day for Sabalenka who had just the one ace as compared to Jabeurās seven. She also hit six double faults while Jabeur had five of her own. Sabalenka also won only 59% of her first-serve points to Jabeurās 74%. But where Jabeur won only 38% of her second-serve points, Sabalenka did better to win 49%.
Speaking with the media after her win, Sabalenka said, āIām just trying to enjoy every second being here, and Iām just trying to do my best and see what the last week of the season can bring. I was just like, āKeep trying, keep fighting, and make sure that if she wants to win this match, she has to do something great, not like an easy win.ā And I think thatās why I put a little bit more pressure on her and in the key moments, I was able to win it.ā
The next round-robin matches of the Nancy Richey Group at the WTA Finals will see Maria Sakkari take on Aryna Sabalenka while Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula will vie for their first win in the event.
Photo Credit: Wilson Tennis Twitter