The highly anticipated World Tennis League Season 3 kicked off with an unforgettable match as the Game Changers Falcons pulled off a thrilling 29-26 comeback victory over the TSL Hawks at the iconic Etihad Arena on Thursday. The season opener was a spectacle of intense competition, with close battles in both doubles and singles, and it culminated in the first Super Shootout of the season.
The women’s doubles set the stage, with Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva of the TSL Hawks taking an early 2-0 lead. However, Game Changers Falcons’ Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia fought back fiercely, leveling the score at 2-2 and surging to a 4-2 lead. The Hawks responded by breaking the Falcons in the seventh game and saving three set points to eventually equalize at 5-5. The thrilling match reached a tiebreak, with the Hawks clinching the set 7-6, creating an exciting atmosphere for the rest of the contest.
In women’s singles, Sabalenka dominated early, racing to a 5-0 lead. But Rybakina bounced back strongly, saving three set points and winning five consecutive games to tie the match at 5-5. The set went into a tiebreak, where Sabalenka ultimately triumphed 7-6, giving the Hawks a 14-12 lead overall.
The men’s doubles featured a commanding 4-1 lead from the Hawks’ Sumit Nagal and Jordan Thompson. However, Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov of the Falcons fought back, tying the score at 4-4 and even taking the lead. Despite the momentum shift, Nagal and Thompson held on to win the set 7-5, extending the Hawks’ overall lead to 21-17.
Rublev then played brilliantly in the men’s singles, winning his set to bring the overall score to 24-26, forcing the match into Over Time (OT) as per the World Tennis League’s unique format. In OT, Rublev won two back-to-back games to level the score at 26-26, pushing the match into a Super Shootout.
In the Super Shootout, Rublev continued his dominant form, defeating Thompson 10-6 and securing crucial bonus points for the Game Changers Falcons.
Reflecting on the thrilling match, World No. 1 Sabalenka commented, “It’s really cool to play in Abu Dhabi and promote our sport here. It was so much fun, but it’s sad to win three out of four sets and still lose the match. The most important thing about World Tennis League is that there’s no pressure. It’s all about fun.
[Agency]
