Abu Dhabi
Game Changers Falcons secured their second consecutive victory in World Tennis League Season 3 as they edged past Kites 24-21 at the iconic Etihad Arena.
With this win, the Falcons finished Day 2 atop the points table with a total of 53 points. TSL Hawks, who also claimed a win earlier in the day, ended in second place with 47 points, followed by Kites in third with 46 points, and HonorFX Eagles in fourth with 34 points.
In the women’s doubles, Simona Halep and Jasmine Paolini made an explosive start for the Kites, breaking the serve of Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia in the very first game and surged to a 2-0 lead after a clean opening serve.
However, Game Changers Falcons’ duo took some time to settle and not only leveled the score but marched ahead to lead 5-3. The Kites fought back, as they won two consecutive games to make it 5-5 and eventually pushed the set into a tiebreak after a 6-6 deadlock. Despite an early deficit, Rybakina and Garcia maintained composure to clinch the set 7-6, giving Game Changers Falcons a narrow lead.
In the women’s singles, Rybakina didn’t allow Halep to settle in. She led the entire set leaving Halep having to catch up. Rybakina closed the set 6-4 comfortably to extend Game Changers Falcons’ overall lead to 13-10.
The mixed doubles clash between Caroline Garcia & Denis Shapovalov and Jasmine Paolini & Nick Kyrgios was an evenly contested affair. However, it was Paolini and Kyrgios who got the better of Garcia and Shapovalov, as they broke after a 5-5 deadlock and held their serve to clinch the set 7-6. Their victory narrowed the overall score to 17-18 in favor of the Kites.
