Tonight,
the
WTA Finals grand final will be played in Cancun, with World No. 2 Swiatek
and World No. 5 Pegula vying for their first title in this tournament. The
Polish player comes with the incentive that if she wins, she will surpass Aryna
Sabalenka in the WTA Rankings and regain the World No. 1 spot.
Tennis
legends
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova commented on the performance of the
finalists during the tournament and provided an insight into what might happen
in the last match in Cancun. They first discussed Iga Swiatek.
“When I
look at how they have played, anything could happen,” Evert said.
“The last
couple of weeks, she’s done really well, winning the title in Beijing and now
getting to this final. Iga had a disappointing Wimbledon and a disappointing US
Open. She wants to finish the year strong. And I think she’s got enough left
over to pull it off,” she added.
“I know
that some people have been disappointed with her 2023 season because the only
major she won was Roland Garros, but look at the overall picture: She’s 22
years old. If she wins this, and finishes the year-end back at No.1, is she the
Player of the Year? I think so,” Evert stated.
“With No.1
on the line after beating Sabalenka, absolutely it’s motivation for Iga to win
this last match. But … it’s also a lot of pressure. I don’t know the last time
the last match of the year came to the No.1 ranking. Playing against Sabalenka,
it was in her hands to deny her the No.1. That’s great, because you always want
to be in control of your fate. And now in the final, Iga has control again.
Think about it: You win the tournament, you get the trophy, you’re No.1 -- it
doesn’t get any better than that,” Navratilova added.
When
analyzing Pegula, both legends agreed that the American's excellent form makes
her a strong contender against the Polish player and gives her a chance to
become the champion:
“Woo! She
lost all her matches a year ago in Fort Worth -- 0-6 singles and doubles
combined -- and look at what she’s done here, solid as a rock. On Saturday she
had a chance to reach both finals,” Evert said.
“Her game
is well suited to these conditions. The only thing I wonder is how tired she
is. She’s played more than 120 matches this year in singles and doubles. At
this point, I think it’s more of a mental thing. Can she win this? In a word,
yes,” she added.
“Once I saw
Jessica playing in these conditions, I thought she’s got to be among the
favorites. The way she played against Gauff, it didn’t even seem like it was
windy on her side of the court. Jessica’s game is perfect for these conditions.
If she can keep it up, I think she can definitely win. It’s just a clean game,
with the wind or against the wind,” Navratilova opined.
“She
reminds me of Lindsay Davenport, the way she’s hitting it. She doesn’t seem to
hit it that hard, but it carries -- it’s a heavy ball and it gets through the
wind. She said in an interview that she just made the decision to not let
anything bother her, and it shows,” former world No. 1 concluded.
