Belarusian ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka held off a spirited challenge from American Alison Riske to win 6-3 3-6 6-1, successfully defending her Wuhan Open title on Saturday.
World No.14 Sabalenka raced ahead of her unseeded opponent in the first five games of the final set before sealing victory with her 18th ace of the match.
18 aces from Aryna Sabalenka in the final en route to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Alison Riske to make it back-to-back titles in Wuhan.
She is now a perfect 12-0 in Wuhan.
Fired 47 aces in Wuhan this week.
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) September 28, 2019
“I can’t believe that I defend this title. I couldn’t even imagine that I will be able to do this. Right now I’m just happy. I don’t know. I can’t believe it’s happened,” Sabalenka said.
“This means a lot. This year been really tough for everyone. I was really afraid that I will be not able to defend this title. I was already saving my points on the beginning of this year. This was my problem. That’s why I couldn’t work well, couldn’t play well, couldn’t fight actually.
“Finally to defend this title, I couldn’t even imagine it’s going to happened. Right now, it’s so many thoughts going through my mind. I’m really thankful to my team because they keep staying with me.”
We’ve got over 13,000 people in the stands for tonight’s singles and doubles finals! ???????????? #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/aXpb9rXPGm
— Wuhan Open (@wuhanopentennis) September 28, 2019
Sabalenka, who rallied from a set down to beat Riske in the Shenzhen Open final earlier this year, started much more aggressively in Saturday’s final as she claimed five of the first six games before sealing the opening set.
Riske faced nine aces from Sabalenka in the second set but broke serve in the sixth game to force a decider.
Riske: "I'm super proud of the week I had.
"I have a little bit of a bittersweet taste after the 3rd set there today just b/c I know mentally I could have done a better job. I think that's going to come with putting myself in this position more often and playing.” #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/wZZ0p5mdvR
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 28, 2019
However, Sabalenka’s powerful groundstrokes ensured she never faced a break point in the final set as she extended her winning streak in Wuhan — where she is undefeated — to 12 matches.
Sabalenka heads to Beijing next, where she faces either Russian Daria Kasatkina or home favourite Peng Shuai in her opening match.
She received a first-round bye due to her efforts in Wuhan.
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