SUMMARY
- Aliaksandra Sasnovich was serving in an unseen manner in her match at the Dubai Duty-Free Championships.
- The fans questioned the reason for the serve by Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The Dubai Duty-Free Championships started on February 18. It is the second WTA 1000 event of the season as the players extend their stay in the Middle East. The fourth-round matches have been completed in singles and doubles. Fans found something strange in one of the fourth-round doubles matches featuring Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Sasnovich was playing alongside Laura Siegemund against Elise Mertens and Su-Wei-Hsieh. While the match lasted two hours, fans were bothered by Sasnovich’s serve. She did not have a full-flowing serving style; instead, she had a minimum racket swing over her head. “What in God’s name is she doing?! Never seen her serve like that before,” commented a fan.
What in gods name is she doing?! Never seen her serve like that before
— Autistic Tennis Fan (@AutisticTennis) February 21, 2024
One fan wondered if she had an injury that forced Sasnovich to serve in an unusual style. “She has a shoulder injury?” commented the fan after watching her serve. The Belarusian had no problems playing in the match, even though her serve stood out. Sasnovich has not been able to find success in singles like before and has been focusing on doubles.
She has a shoulder injury? https://t.co/0EAsuewCvq
— Rachel | #19InDubai (@rafacharliga) February 21, 2024
She’s serving like a middle school boy girl what are you DOING https://t.co/WH0U03KZfc
— Chloe 💫 (@Igaclayblev) February 21, 2024
Sasnovich has been partnering up with different players on each event this season. But she has reached the quarterfinals at an event for the first time this year at the Dubai Duty-Free Championships. Sasnovich and Siegemund will now face Ulrikke Eikeri and Fang-Hsien Wu.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich achieves personal milestone at Dubai
Sasnovich is playing doubles at the Dubai Duty-Free Championships for the second time. Last year, she partnered up with Yifan Xu and lost in the fourth round. She has reached the quarterfinals this year, marking her best performance at the WTA 1000 event. The last time Sasnovich reached the quarterfinals at a WTA 1000 was in Qatar in February last season.
The 29-year-old, this time, paired up with Siegemund as they defeated top seeds Elise Mertens and Su-Wei-Hsieh. Sasnovich and Siegemund were three points away from capturing the first set in the tenth game, but their returns proved weak as they lost the lead and the set in the tiebreak.
Mertens and Hsieh never had a chance to take the lead in the second set as their net game fell short. They failed to convert their only opportunity to break in the set. In the final set, the top seeds took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak, but an inspiring comeback by Siegemund and Sasnovich took the score to 8-8.
Sasnovich’s forehand passing shot hit the record, which made Hsieh miscalculate her volley. Siegemund and Sasnovich put their hands up and apologized. Mertens hit a backhand slice wide on match point, giving Siegemund and Sasnovich a passage to the quarterfinal clash in Dubai.