The final Round Robin match of the 2023
World Tennis League has been completed and Daniil Medvedev's Eagles will face
Aryna Sabalenka's Kites on Christmas Eve despite the latter suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
Hawks defeated Kites 20-19 as again a doubles match was cancelled like in the opening match of the day meaning the smaller scoreline between the two teams. But it also saw the first
Iga Swiatek (Hawks) and Aryna Sabalenka (Kites) clash of the new season won by the latter in the UAE.
Sabalenka defeats Swiatek, but Ruud gains a consolation win
In the opening match of the final tie, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud (Hawks) teamed up for Men's Doubles against the duo of Grigor Dimitrov and Lloyd Harris (Kites). But it was the latter who struck first with a 6-4 win.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka technically played each other back-to-back after the mixed doubles clash was cancelled. Swiatek and Caroline Garcia for Hawks saw off Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka who have been superb this week mainly due to their friendship meaning chemistry on the court. But it was a 6-3 win for the Polish French duo as they added the first win for Hawks.
Albeit then it was the turn of Sabalenka to gain bragging rights in the singles as she saw off Iga Swiatek 6-4 to also send Kites through to the final. This meant that Casper Ruud was technically just playing for bragging rights as he took on Grigor Dimitrov and it was a 6-4 win for the Norwegian who sealed the tie for Hawks against Kites. The final awaits tomorrow.
Final standings - 2023 World Tennis League
Rank | Team | Played | Win | Loss | Points W/L | Points |
1 | Kites | 3 | 2 | 1 | 79-72 | 79 |
2 | Eagles | 3 | 2 | 1 | 75-73 | 75 |
3 | Falcons | 3 | 1 | 2 | 75-79 | 75 |
4 | Hawks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 72-77 | 72 |