Aryna Sabalenka Defends Her Title at Wuhan Open 2019 By Defeating Alison Riske in The Finals

Published 09/28/2019, 6:34 AM EDT

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The Wuhan Open finals between Aryna Sabalenka and Alison Riske turned out to be a challenging one, as the defending champion in Wuhan, Sabalenka dropped a set to retain her Wuhan crown. She defeated the American 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the finals of the Chinese event.

Set one: 

The women played some tough tennis during their initial service games of the championship match, but Sabalenka exercised her dominance by breaking Riske’s service game for a 3-1 lead.

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Lethal!

Riske!

The Belarusian played a sterling service game and with a ripped backhand winner she held her service game for a 4-1 lead.

Clean game from Sabalenka

She seemed undaunted as she led by 5-1, but while serving for the set, Sabalenka’s double faults and unforced errors kept the opening set action on at 5-2. Riske exhibited some skillful tennis while Word Number 14, Aryna Sabalenka was once again serving for the set.

Her error-strewn form of tennis was persisting while she had a set point, also Alison Riske came up with a textbook backhand return which pulled down Sabalenka. Nevertheless, bouncing the ball nearby the net, the Belarusian closed out the first set at 6-3.

That backhand return on set point!

One set away from defending her Wuhan title!

Set Two: 

Alison Riske began by making a comfortable hold, but it was onerous for Aryna Sabalenka to hold her serve at 1-1. The American produced a few jaw-dropping angled shots and faced break points for a 2-0, however, on the seventh game point, the Belarusian saved her service game with an ace.

Sabalenka’s was produced a significant number of aces in her service games, but her unforced errors were stopping her from clinging to her service game. Failing to control her shots, Sabalenka dropped her serve and Riske led by 4-2.

Just Brilliant!

With Sabalenka unable to take back the break, Alison Riske sealed the second set 6-3 and both of them kept the Wuhan audience engaged with their brilliant tennis action.

Game on!

Set Three: 

The deciding set began with Sabalenka taking a 2-0 lead as Riske committed double faults. Later she held her serve to love for a 3-0 lead.

Edging closer to the title!

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A focused and committed Sabalenka was seen in the decider as she demolished the American by taking a 5-0 lead with relentlessly slamming groundstrokes on Riske’s court. While serving for her title, she aced a serve on her first championship point.

It’s Sabalenka again in Wuhan!

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Written by:

Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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