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Aryna Sabalenka defeats Russia’s Kudermetova to win WTA tournament in Abu Dhabi

Sabalenka, seeded 4th at the tournament, won her third consecutive title at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open and extended her winning streak to 15 straight matches

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova lost on Wednesday to Aryna Sabalenka in the final match of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open tournament.

In the final match, which lasted 1 hour and 5 minutes, World’s No. 10 Sabalenka routed the 23-year-old Russian in straight sets 6-2; 6-2.

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Russia’s Kudermetova reaches final of WTA tournament in Abu Dhabi

Sabalenka, seeded 4th at the tournament, won her third consecutive title at the Abu Dhabi WTA Women’s Tennis Open and extended her winning streak to 15 straight matches.

"I was doing everything I could in each match from the beginning, and I’m really happy to start this season with a title," the tournament’s official website quoted Sabalenka as saying after her win.

"Every final is really something special, and I would say, finals are a different competition," the Belarusian tennis player said. "This final was really nice, and I would say a really fast game."

Kudermetova is currently ranked 46th in the WTA Ratings. She reached her first-ever WTA (Women Tennis Association) singles final after she defeated on Tuesday Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. Her best result at the Grand Slam tournaments was reaching Round 3 of the 2019 French Open.

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open is the first WTA tournament this year and was played on outdoor hard courts between January 6 and 13 at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi. The tournament offered $565,530 in prize money.

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