/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2023/12/21/3848810-78209128-2560-1440.jpg "Defeats of Hurkacz and Świątek at the beginning of the World Tennis League")
A glimpse at the new tennis season in the United Arab Emirates. The World Tennis League friendly competitions kicked off on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
A tournament full of stars
From Thursday to Saturday, four teams compete in a round-robin format. The top two teams will qualify for the final on Sunday. The Hawks included Iga Świątek and Hubert Hurkacz. The red and white team is supported by Caroline Garcia from France and Kasper Ruud from Norway.
First, our team faces the Falcons team, represented by: Jelena Rybakina, Sorana Cirstea, Taylor Fritz, Sumit Nagal.
Each match consists of five matches – two doubles, one mixed and two singles. In each match, one set is played without any advantages.
Hurkacz and Światek were scheduled to play two games on Thursday. The Wroclaw native first played in the doubles match, and after that he will play in the mixed doubles match. Świątek, in turn, was scheduled to participate in the doubles and singles final.
Two defeats for Hurkacz
At the inauguration ceremony, Hobby faced Rod Fritz and Nagal. The Polish-Norwegian pair lost a little of their own. With a 5-3 lead, she was awarded the match ball, but Nagal played brilliantly into the net. After a while, the opponents equalized the score at 5:5, and after two more games we got a tie-break. Here again, Hurkacz and Ruud led 4-2, eventually losing 6-8. Despite the defeat, the Pole performed very well. He showed many impressive moves.
After a while, the Wrocław resident got the opportunity for rehabilitation. This time he performed a duet with Garcia. This time our representative and the French lost quite easily 2:6. Despite the weaker match, the smile never left the Pole’s face. After he broke one, coach Robert Linstedt asked if he could replace him. After two games, the Hawks lost to the Falcons 8:13.
A bigger loss after a match that healed you
In the third match, we finally saw Iga Švetek and Garcia, who faced off against Rybakina and Cirstia. From the beginning, Polish and French women fought an uphill battle. Their serve was broken quickly, but fortunately they were able to put away their opponent’s serve just as quickly. At 3-3, they defended as many as three break points. We managed to win the match, which Garcia finished with an ace.
A few minutes later, Światek, who had not yet reached her professional level, missed the pass. The two competitors took advantage of the weakness of the Polish-French duo to win with a score of 6:4. After this match, the situation of “Jastrzębie” became more complicated, as they were already losing at 12:19.
In the penultimate match, Ruud easily defeated Fritz 6:1 and cut the Hawks’ loss to just two games. In the end, he will face Svetek Rybakina.
Falcons Team – Falcons Team 18:20 (match continues)
Hubert Hurkacz/Caster Ruud – Taylor Fritz/Sumit Nagal 6:7(6)
Hubert Hurkacz/Caroline Carsia – Taylor Fritz/Sorana Cirstea 2:6
Iga Švetek/Caroline Garcia – Elena Rybakina/Sorana Cirstea 4:6
Casper Ruud – Taylor Fritz 6:1
Iga Shvetek – Elena Rybakina
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