The inaugural World Tennis League kicked off on Monday in Dubai. The Kites defeated the Eagles 35-27 after picking up two individual wins. The Eagles got off to a good start and took the lead thanks to Bianca Andreescu and Nick Kyrgios.
Andreescu and Kyrgios defeated Eugenie Bouchard and Holger Rune 6-2, 6-3 to move up to seven games. The Comets returned in the women’s singles, with the no. 1 Iga Swiatek defeating Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-4 in less than 70 minutes.
They traded early breaks in the first set, and Iga won three games in a row at 3-3 6-3. Swiatek led 5-3 in the second set before Garcia recovered the break at the last moment for 4-5. The Pole broke again in game ten to seal the deal and keep her team alive.
In the men’s singles, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3 in 65 minutes to propel the Kites to the top.
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Nick Kyrgios in Dubai.
The Canadian played better behind first and second serves and faced just two break points.
Nick took a break and struggled with the second serve to drop serve four times and bring Felix to the finish line. Kyrgios clinched the first game of the encounter at nil and broke Auger-Aliassime in the next after the Canadian’s double fault.
The Australian produced another control to love in the third game for 3-0 in a very short time. Felix secured the fourth game with a powerful serve to close the gap and put his name on the scoreboard. The Canadian broke at 15 in the fifth game and produced another good hold in the next for 3-3.
Kyrgios held after two in game nine before Auger-Aliassime broke it at 5-5 to move in front. Felix served for the opener in game 12 and fired a forehand down the line winner for 7-5 and a drive. The Canadian closed out the second game of the second set after deuce, and both served well until 2-2.
Felix made a decisive move with a backhand down the line winner in game five, delivering a break and gaining momentum. Auger-Aliassime served well in games six and eight to carve out a 5-3 lead. Nick served to stay in the match in the ninth game and was broken when Felix landed a forehand down the line winner that took him over the top.
