Sabalenka saves three set points against Paolini, through to semi-finals in Riyadh
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is through to the last four of the WTA Finals, beating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 to secure her spot at the top of the Purple Group. She saved three set points in the second set to close out the match in straight sets, and a relieved Sabalenka said afterwards: “The … Continued
Aryna Sabalenka in Wuhan (Imago/Panoramic)
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is through to the last four of the WTA Finals, beating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 to secure her spot at the top of the Purple Group.
She saved three set points in the second set to close out the match in straight sets, and a relieved Sabalenka said afterwards: “The whole match was tough, she’s such a great player. I’m super happy with this win.
“The second set was quite tricky. Honestly, I was just trying to stay aggressive and show her that I’m going to fight for this set.”
Sabalenka had few problems in the first set, racing to a 4-0 lead, and looked set to repeat the smooth run in the second when she went 4-2 up. The Italian was a tenacious opponent, though, dragging her way back to 5-5 before the world No 1 pushed herself over the line.
Paolini now plays Zheng Qinwen in a straight shoot-out for the second spot in the group.
