Match box
| Player | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aryna Sabalenka | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Elina Svitolina | 6 | 3 | 6 |
Elina Svitolina, the world No. 6, beat Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 2, 6-3 3-6 6-1 at Finals – Riyadh. It went the full three sets.
Svitolina took the first set 6-3. Sabalenka answered with the second by the same score, 6-3, and the match was level. The third belonged to Svitolina, 6-1.
The break-point line
The match came down to break points. Svitolina won 6 of her 8. Sabalenka created 11 chances and won 4. Both players hit 21 winners, so the gap was in the conversion.
Svitolina also served 6 aces to Sabalenka’s 1. She won 65 % of her first-serve points to Sabalenka’s 52 %, and she landed 58 % of her first serves to Sabalenka’s 49 %. Svitolina made 24 unforced errors and Sabalenka made 35.
Sabalenka had her moments. She won the second set and made plenty of chances on Svitolina’s serve. Svitolina hit 9 double faults and still won 87 points to Sabalenka’s 72.
