Defending champion Coco Gauff kept her hopes alive of reaching the knockout stages of the WTA Finals with victory over Jasmine Paolini.
Defeat by fellow American Jessica Pegula in her opening group match in Riyadh had put Gauff in trouble but she eased to a 6-3 6-2 win against Paolini.
The Italian has been struggling with illness and again was unable to show her best level physically, with Gauff overcoming a wobble midway through the first set.
The third seed told Sky Sports: “I’m really happy with how I played, definitely a turnaround from my first match.
“It’s the beauty of this tournament, you have another chance to prove yourself. Hopefully I can do well in my next one to give myself a chance to stay in this tournament.”
Paolini is eliminated having not won a set, while Gauff is likely to need to beat Aryna Sabalenka to give herself a chance of reaching the semi-finals.
Laura Robson on Gauff’s victory: “A really solid performance. She’s almost her toughest critic at times and you just hope she’s able to appreciate how well she’s come out and played given everything else.”
Tale of the Tape
Sabalenka wins match of the tournament
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Highlights of Aryna Sabalenka vs Jessica Pegula from the WTA Finals
Sabalenka prevailed in a tough contest against Pegula to claim her second group-match victory of the tournament.
The world No 1 earned a straight-sets win over Paolini in her opening game, but faced a tight battle against Pegula and eventually clinched a 6-4 2-6 6-3 victory.
“Pegula is an incredible player. She always pushed me to the limit. I was thinking, I’m going to go after my shots, stay aggressive, put all of that speed back on her and hope that I get my chance,” said Sabalenka.
Tim Henman on Sabalenka’s victory: “No doubt the best match of the tournament with such quality tennis and brilliant ball-striking.”
How the Steffi Graf Group looks…
Sabalenka now has two wins in the group and will face Gauff next, while Pegula comes up against Paolini.
Djokovic progresses to Athens quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic overcame Alejandro Tabilo for the first time to reach the quarter-finals at the Hellenic Championship in Athens.
Chilean Tabilo, ranked 89th in the world, had beaten the 24-time grand slam singles champion in both of their previous meetings, which came on clay in Rome last year and Monte Carlo in April.
But top seed Djokovic served 13 aces and faced just one break point on his way to a 7-6 (3) 6-1 victory on the hard courts of the Greek capital to reach the 225th tour-level quarter-final of his career.
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There had been concerns over Novak Djokovic’s ability to finish his season after he retired from his Six Kings Slam third-place match with Taylor Fritz
Djokovic told the ATP website: “Playing against Tabilo, who I had never won against – we played two times on clay, this year and last year and he won both of these matches – I was more under tension before the match than some other matches and I really tried to draw the energy from the crowd.”
A tight tussle in the opening set saw only two break points, both in Tabilo’s opening service game, before Djokovic dominated the tie-break.
The 38-year-old clinched the first break of the contest in the fourth game of the second set, which proved to be the decisive moment as Djokovic clinched victory in one hour and 39 minutes.
Norrie into Metz quarters
Cameron Norrie overcame a brutal three-set match against Arthur Cazaux that finished after midnight local time to make his way to the quarter-finals in the Moselle Open.
The Brit had a tough challenge ahead of him as he played his second Frenchman of the tournament, but after a battle lasting nearly three hours, Norrie took a 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (7-8) 6-2 win.
Seventh seed Norrie broke Cazaux in the opening game, but the French player responded with a break of his own in the sixth and went on to dominate the tie-break and take the first set.
Another tight encounter followed in the second set, with both players holding their serve before Norrie prevailed to level – and the 30-year-old finished strongly, breaking Cazaux’s serve twice to seal the match.
Stats from Cameron Norrie and Arthur Cazaux’s match at the Moselle Open 2025
“Yeah, it’s always a battle, he’s [Cazaux] a really talented player,” Norrie said.
“He has an amazing serve which I was really struggling to read and I had to really fight hard to get myself in the match.
“I was not really feeling good in the first set and a half, I had to pick some battles with myself, but it was nice to get into the match there and I started the third set really strong.
“I wanted to be playing and I appreciate everyone sticking around making the atmosphere great and it was nice to have a couple of supporters in the crowd as well.”
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