Big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka was too strong for Ashleigh Barty yesterday in the opening match of the WTA Elite Trophy in China, taking the match 6-4, 6-4.
The tournament’s youngest player showed the aggressive form that has seen her shoot up the world rankings from 39th to 12th place in just three months.
Belarus’ Sabalenka, 20, made the most of breaking Australia’s Barty, 22, in the very first game of the match, seeing out a nip-and-tuck opening set 6-4. Sabalenka looked the more confident of the two early on, and held her nerve to pull out her first two aces to clinch the set.
Photo: AFP
Barty took the initiative in the second set, breaking in the fourth game, only for Sabalenka to break back in Barty’s two following service games. The pair produced thrilling base-line battles for the spectators at the Hengqin Tennis Center, but Sabalenka turned the screw to see out the match in one hour, 26 minutes.
Sabalenka and Barty’s clash was their first round robin match, with both yet to play world No. 18 Caroline Garcia of France.
“I’m disappointed not to come away with the win, but I’ll have another opportunity in the next few days to try and finish my season on a real high,” Barty said after the match.
Asked about the strength of the field, last year’s semi-finalist said: “I thought last year was good, but this year’s another level.”
“We have the top 20 players in the world this year who are fighting right until the end of the season, which is really positive,” she added.
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