WTA Elite Trophy: Top Seed Daria Kasatkina Faces Keys, Muguruza Gets Sevastova Test - UBITENNIS
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WTA Elite Trophy: Top Seed Daria Kasatkina Faces Keys, Muguruza Gets Sevastova Test

The draw for the final WTA tournament of 2018 has been revealed.

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Daria Kasatkina faces stiff opposition from a former grand slam finalist and a home favourite in her group at the upcoming Elite Trophy.

 

The draw took place for the fourth edition of the event on Monday, which is the last in the WTA Calendar this season. 12 players ranked outside of the world’s top eight will battle it out in a round robin format. Similar to that of last week’s WTA Finals, which was won by Elina Svitolina. In this year’s field, seventh seed Garbine Muguruza is the only player to have previously won a grand slam title. Meanwhile, defending champion Julia Goerges will be hoping to become the first player to win the title for a second consecutive year.

“I think it’s a great opportunity being back here again,” Goerges said during her pre-tournament press conference. “For me, it means that I’ve had a consistent year, which always, like, is the case to be a top player, to be consistent throughout the year.

“For me, it doesn’t really feel pressured or something, or mentally anything special. It’s just like coming back here to get all these great memories in, which I had last year winning my biggest title of the career. I think that’s what it’s all about.”

A total of four groups will feature in the tournament with the winner of each group progressing to the semi-finals. Kasatkina has been drawn in the same group as Madison Keys and Wang Qiang. The 21-year-old has recently won her second WTA title at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. She has a winning head-to-head record against Qiang, but is yet to defeat Keys on the tour.

Second seed Anastasija Sevastova heads the Camella Group. The Latvian won the Bucharest Open in July and has recorded four wins over top 10 opposition this season. She has been drawn in the same group as two-time grand slam champion Garbine Muguruza and wild card entrant Zhang Shuai.

“It’s exciting because I’ve never been here in Zhuhai – it’s a different format,” Muguruza told reporters in China.

“Yeah, I think there’s plenty of reasons to be happy to be playing here and hopefully get a good win and finish the year with a good taste.”

Rising star Aryna Sabalenka will face Caroline Garcia and Ash Barty as she aims to end her breakthrough season on a high. The 20-year-old has won two Premier titles since August and is currently ranked 12th in the world. One place off her personal best.

Finally, defending champion Goerges has been drawn to play Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit and Elise Mertens. Should she win the tournament, it will be the first time in her career she has won three WTA titles within the same season.

The Elite Trophy will get underway on Tuesday at the Hengqin Tennis Center.

Overview of participating players

Player

Ranking (as of 29/10)

Titles won in 2018

Daria Kasatkina RUS

10

1 – Moscow

Anastasija Sevastova LAT

11

1 – Bucharest

Aryna Sabalenka BLR

12

2 – New Haven and Wuhan

Julia Goerges GER

14

2 – Auckland and Luxembourg

Madison Keys USA

16

0

Garbine Muguruza ESP

17

1 – Monterrey

Caroline Garcia FRA

18

1 – Tianjin

Ash Barty AUS

19

1 – Nottingham

Anett Kontaveit EST

20

2 – Andrezieux-Boutheon (ITF $60,000) and s-Hertogenbosch

Wang Qiang CHN

22

2 – Nanchang and Guangzhou

Elise Mertens BEL

13

3 – Hobart, Lugano and  Rabat

Zhang Shuai CHN

33

0

ROUND-ROBIN DRAW (via wtatennis.com)

AZALEA

[1] D. Kasatkina (RUS) vs. [6] M. Keys (USA)

[1] D. Kasatkina (RUS) vs. [11] Q. Wang (CHN)

[6] M. Keys (USA) vs. [11] Q. Wang (CHN)

CAMELLIA

[2] A. Sevastova (LAT) vs. [7] G. Muguruza (ESP)

[2] A. Sevastova (LAT) vs. [12] [WC] S. Zhang (CHN)

[7] G. Muguruza (ESP) vs. [12] [WC] S. Zhang (CHN)

ORCHID

[3] A. Sabalenka (BLR) vs. [8] C. Garcia (FRA)

[3] A. Sabalenka (BLR) vs. [9] A. Barty (AUS)

[8] C. Garcia (FRA) vs. [9] A. Barty (AUS)

ROSE

[4] E. Mertens (BEL) vs. [5] J. Goerges (GER)

[4] E. Mertens (BEL) vs. [10] A. Kontaveit (EST)

[5] J. Goerges (GER) vs. [10] A. Kontaveit (EST)

 

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Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

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Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

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Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

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