A clash we were all waiting for 🔥 and @taylorfritz97 wins the battle against @daniilmedwed 🙌 in their last game of the league stage 🎾 #WTL #WorldTennisLeague #MeteoraDevelopers #Day3 #EaglesVsFalcons #Tennis #AbuDhabi #UAE
The penultimate Round Robin clash is concluded between Eagles and Falcons at the World Tennis League which will see two teams at the end of today find their way into the final.
Eagles led by Daniil Medvedev and also featuring Mirra Andreeva, Sofia Kenin and Andrey Rublev nearly swept the previous near imperious Falcons who were second in the table behind Kites at the start of today's play. It was a 22-18 win though for Eagles who now lead the way albeit level with Falcons having lost less games.
A clash we were all waiting for 🔥 and @taylorfritz97 wins the battle against @daniilmedwed 🙌 in their last game of the league stage 🎾 #WTL #WorldTennisLeague #MeteoraDevelopers #Day3 #EaglesVsFalcons #Tennis #AbuDhabi #UAE
But the Falcons were almost doomed from the start in this clash as Elena Rybakina who had anchored them throughout the tournament withdrew due to sickness. The Kazakh ace was replaced this morning by Vera Zvonareva as World Tennis League organizers had to scramble to find a player available. The first match was then canceled in the mixed doubles as Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev (Eagles) did not face Vera Zvonareva and Taylor Fritz (Falcons).
But Andreeva and Kenin for Eagles were in action next up edging past Sorana Cirstea and Zvonareva for Falcons in a 6-4 win. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev then had the same scoreline for Eagles as they took down Taylor Fritz and Sumit Nagal (Falcons) 6-4. Then it was time for the singles.
Sofia Kenin faced an easier task than Rybakina in Cirstea and bagged more points for Eagles with a 6-4 win. But Fritz after losing every singles match during the tournament finally showed up against Medvedev handing Falcons their first win of the tie 6-3. But it then went to Overtime which Medvedev took in the Super Tiebreak to bag the win 22-18.
The second tie of the day sees Hawks face Kites and all eyes will be on the table (updated below) with Kites likely in pole position and unlike this tie, no players have since withdrawn so in theory both could yet face off again in tomorrow's final.
Rank | Team | Ties | Games | Bonus points | Points total |
1 | Eagles | 2-1 | 73-73 | 2 | 75 |
2 | Falcons | 1-2 | 73-77 | 2 | 75 |
3 | Kites | 2-0 | 58-52 | 2 | 60 |
4 | Hawks | 0-2 | 52-54 | 0 | 52 |