World No. 16 Mirra Andreeva also won against fourth-ranked Jasmine Paolini in singles, as Team Hawks now leads Team Kites with a comfortable 12-5 scoreline at the World Tennis League.
In her opening match, the rising Russian and Aryna Sabalenka defeated the Italian and Simona Halep 6-1. Shortly after the doubles match ended, Andreeva began to shine in singles, beating Paolini 6-4 in 34 minutes of play. For the 17-year-old, this was her first singles appearance at this year’s World Tennis League. In the last two days, she played only doubles with Sabalenka while the world No. 1 also played two singles matches
One of the main reasons behind the Russian’s singles win was the fact that she managed to save 4 out of 4 break points she faced. How did Andreeva defeat Paolini at the World Tennis League? In the first part of the set, there were break points on both sides: the Italian won a decisive service point in the opening game before the Russian did the same in the next game.
In the third game, the 17-year-old had a much better chance of getting a break, but she missed three consecutive break point opportunities. Andreeva continued to press, however, and eventually managed to take Paolini’s serve in the fifth game to open a 3-2 lead. Immediately, the French Open and Wimbledon runner-up had a chance to score a break, but she lost a crucial point in the sixth game when the Russian took a 4-2 lead. Two games later, the world No. 4 had another chance to fully get back into the match, but she failed to convert either of her two break point opportunities. In the end, Paolini ended up paying the ultimate price for her missed opportunities as Andreeva had no trouble closing out the match on serve in the tenth game.
