A Rollercoaster Start for the Belarusian
Aryna Sabalenka began her WTA Finals campaign in Indian Wells with a testing 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 win over Karolina Muchova on Monday, a match that was far messier than the scoreline suggests. Sabalenka, who is competing in the season-ending showpiece for the sixth time and chasing her first title there, found herself broken in both sets before rallying each time to eventually close things out just shy of two hours.
Her serve caused real concern throughout. Seven double faults against four aces is a poor exchange, and the Belarusian admitted post-match that shifting sun and shade at the Indian Wells venue forced her to constantly adjust her ball toss, sometimes serving almost blind. Still, once she landed her first serve, she won 33 of 44 points behind it, and her forehand grew more dangerous as the match wore on. Muchova, who held a winning head-to-head record against Sabalenka coming in and reached the Wimbledon final this year, served for the first set before crumbling into a tiebreak that Sabalenka dominated. The second set featured five service breaks in total before Sabalenka finally wrapped things up on her second match point. Describing her opponent as a "high IQ player," Sabalenka said she was simply relieved to start with a win.
Wider Picture at the WTA Finals
Sabalenka enters the tournament as a heavy favourite after world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew due to illness and fatigue. This season has been a complicated one for Sabalenka: no Grand Slam title, two finals lost to Rybakina, and a patchy Asian swing. Elsewhere on Monday, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva was ruthlessly efficient, dismissing Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 in just 77 minutes.
TennisDraw users had Sabalenka marked as the most popular pick to lift the trophy this week.
