WTA Finals in Riyadh—Saudi Arabia
Rybakina Reaches WTA Finals; Djokovic Reaches Athens Final
Friday’s action at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia saw former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina roll into finals of the event, defeating former US Open finalist Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Rybakina, who has also been one of the best fast-court players in the world, will next face either top seed Aryna Sabalenka or No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova.
Pegula reached the semifinals after defeating Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 on Friday.
Sabalenka defeated No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in the final Group Stage match yesterday.
Anisimova has reach the finals of the last two Grand Slams and has been in great form the second half of the season. The 24-year-old leads Sabalenka 6-4 in career head-to-head meetings.
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Djokovic Reaches Athens Finals
Top seed Novak Djokovic advanced to the finals of the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Hellenic Championship in Athens, Greece on Friday, defeating Yannick Hanfmann from Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic, who is bidding to win his 101st career title this week, will next face No. 2 seed Lorenzo Musetti, or talented American Sebastian Korda for a place in Saturday’s final.
Musetti is vying to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy with a victory this week in Athens. Korda has had an up-and-down season (largely due to injury), but still remains one of the most gifted players in the world.
Korda and Musetti have played four times on Tour, with both players winning on two occasions.
Djokovic has already qualified for the season-ending event in Turin, and is scheduled to play his first match on Monday evening.
Stay tuned for daily coverage from TennisConnected.com, including match analysis, updated draws, and all the latest results.
Looking to catch the action live? Streaming details for this week’s US Open from Flushing Meadows, New York can be found right here.
