Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka moved closer to clinching the year-end world number one ranking on Sunday by dominating Greece’s Maria Sakkari in a group-stage opener at the WTA Finals. The 25-year-old from Belarus, who captured this year’s Australian Open title, fired six aces and 17 winners while saving all five break points she faced to dispatch Sakkari 6-0, 6-1 at the season-ending event in Cancun, Mexico.
Sakkari saved three match points to hold serve in the penultimate game but fell after 74 minutes. “It wasn’t as easy as the score showed,” Sabalenka said. “I just tries to stay focused, tried to control myself in this match, doing everything I can to win.”
American Jessica Pegula defeated Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-2 in 83 minutes in the other singles group stage match at the $9 million outdoor hardcourt showdown. Two groups of four players will compete in round-robin matches through Friday with the two top finishers in each group advancing to Saturday’s semi-finals. The final will be next Sunday.
Sabalenka is trying to hold off second-ranked Iga Swiatek, the reigning French Open champion from Poland, to claim the year-end crown taken last year by four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek. Sabalenka can clinch the year-end top spot by going 2-1 in the group stage and reaching the final no matter what Swiatek does.
The triumph by Sabalenka ensures Swiatek must win the title to have a chance at the year-end top spot. Sabalenka was the runner-up in last month’s US Open and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the French Open. She also won WTA titles this year at Madrid and Adelaide.
Sabalenka became world number one after her run to the US Open final in September, ending Swiatek’s 75-week rankings reign after her debut at number one in April 2022. “It’s good to reach one of your goals but you still need to work hard and bring your best tennis,” Sabalenka said. “When you reach number one I feel like you have this huge target on your back.”
Last night’s opening matches in the other group was Swiatek against reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic and 19-year-old American Coco Gauff, the US Open champion, against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.
Murray misses match point to continue
De Minaur jinx
Andy Murray missed a match point and blew a 5-2 lead in the final set to suffer his sixth straight defeat to Alex de Minaur in the Paris Masters first round on Monday. The three-time Grand Slam champion appeared poised to finally clinch a first win over Australian De Minaur after a double-break in the deciding set, but slumped to a 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-5 loss.
Murray has still not won a match at Bercy Arena since lifting the title in 2016 en route to finishing as the year-end world number one. The Briton saw three set points come and go before losing the first set in a tie-break, but bounced back to level the match and then take control. But he twice failed to serve out the match, missing a match point in the 10th game.
De Minaur instead secured victory to set up a second-round tie with either Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic or French wildcard Benjamin Bonzi. Murray let slip two game points in the 12th and final game before being broken again, smashing his racquet in frustration when his exit was confirmed after three hours on court. It was De Minaur’s fourth win over Murray this year.
Elsewhere on the first day of the tournament, US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton lost 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-3 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. American 14th seed Frances Tiafoe lost 6-3, 6-4 to Alexander Bublik. The defeat ended Tiafoe’s slim hopes of reaching next month’s ATP Finals in Turin. Karen Khachanov, the 2018 champion, progressed with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Australia’s Max Purcell.