Sabalenka goes back-to-back in Wuhan

Published by Reuters / Tennismash

Aryna Sabalenka is now a perfect 12-0 in Wuhan after defending her title from 2018 (Getty Images)
Aryna Sabalenka defends her Wuhan Open title with an intense three-set victory over Alison Riske in front of 13,000 fans.

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.

“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.”

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.

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.

Share this: 
  • Most popular articles

30 December 2019

Second-serve return in the men’s game: an exploration

Nick Kyrgios’ first-round win over Andrey Rublev at last year’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow ... More

22 September 2017

Tennis’ obscure traits and trends

In the heat and humidity of the recent US Open series, there was a slow-mo nod to a long-r... More

15 September 2016

The 10 most influential players in the history of tennis

The greatest champions, goes the old adage, are those who leave their sport better than th... More

29 April 2016

How to beat a better player

Victory was never out of the question when Bernard Tomic faced 17-time Grand Slam champion... More