Iga Swiatek leads Kites to victory, Bianca Andreescu enjoys Nick Kyrgios outing – ‘I think he’s rubbing off on me’
Team Kites were victorious against the Eagles on the opening day of the World Tennis League in Dubai thanks to wins from Iga Swiatek and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Eagles though claimed the first-ever win at the inaugural non-ATP/WTA-affiliated mixed team event as Nick Kyrgios and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu teamed up to defeat Eugenie Bouchard and Holger Rune in the mixed doubles, securing a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Andreescu certainly enjoyed sharing the court with Kyrgios.
“I thought the chemistry was great right from the start,” the Canadian said after the win. “We’re both pretty outgoing people so I thought that we’re going to bring great energy and we played very well.
“I think we both have great hands. I think he’s rubbing off on me a little bit on the serve and on the volleys, so hopefully we can keep it going.”
Things are happening here at the WTL.
Changeover is done and Genie is like, where do I go? Lol pic.twitter.com/boJ2VIjWQ7
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) December 19, 2022
But the Kites replied through world No 1 Swiatek as the three-time Grand Slam winner defeated WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia 6–3, 6–4 to reduce the deficit to 17–19 (the number of games won by each team counts towards the total points plus teams get five bonus points for winning the most games in a match).
And so it came down to the men’s singles clash between Auger-Aliassime and Kyrgios to decide the winning team on day one in Dubai.
When asked about his upcoming match against the Canadian, Kyrgios replied: “Yes and no. I know Felix will be hungry and super, super serious like it’s a Slam final. We’ll have some fun.”
Swiatek was certainly backing her team-mate to come up with the goods, saying: “I think Felix is the one who is more solid, so he got this.”
It turned into a tense affair as Kyrgios collided with a line judge midway during the first set and groaned: “Why didn’t you move if you saw me coming?”
Not long after he had a go at the chair umpire over a ball that wasn’t called out.
“That was wide, then why aren’t you calling it? I don’t have to correct everything that you think is in.”
Auger-Aliassime eventually secured a 7-5, 6-3 win for the Kites to take the score to 30–27 at the end of the opening day’s action.
The Falcons, which features Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa, will take on the Hawks on day two. Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Elena Rybakina are all part of the Hawks outfit.
READ MORE: What is the World Tennis League: Dubai exhibition puts a new spin on team tennis
