PBG Eagles clinched the World Tennis League Season Two title after producing an impressive team performance to beat SG Mavericks Kites 29-26 in Sunday’s final in Abu Dhabi.
They were awarded the trophy by Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council during a presentation ceremony that was also attended by Rajesh Banga, Chairman and Founder of WTL, Sunil Matthew CO Founder and Praveen Sharma, Chairman of Meteora Developers.
In front of a large crowd at the Etihad Arena, Kites made a perfect start to the match although Stefano Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa had to work for their 7-6 victory in the opening set against Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.
Eagles bounced back in the women’s doubles as Andreeva and Sofia Kenin battled from 5-2 down to register a hard-fought 7-5 win, taking a one-point overall lead going into the last three sets.
The men’s doubles saw Kites’ Medvedev and Andrey Rublev extend their team’s lead after coming out on top 6-3 against Eagles’ Grigor Dimitrov and Lloyd Harris.
Eagles were again celebrating as Kenin, ranked 33 in the world, caused an upset against World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Women’s Singles. The 25-year-old American broke in the fifth game and held her serve from then on to register a 6-4 win.
Kenin’s victory meant Eagles had a six-point lead going into the final encounter of the evening – the men’s singles between Rublev and Dimitrov. Rublev broke in the second game to give Eagles an advantage and although Dimitrov won the set, it was not enough to deny Eagles the title.
“When we knew we were going to play on Sunday, we were all motivated to do well,” Medvedev said.
“We didn’t get off to a good start but we knew we had to do better in the following games and we happily did that and we’re all happy to have won the title.”
For Andreeva, she enjoyed the experience of playing in the WTL.
“Honestly, I was so nervous on the first day and I felt I improved each day. I was happy to bring some points to our team during this tournament,” she said.
The format consisted of five sets per match – three doubles and two single encounters with the team accumulating the most points winning the match.