ABU DHABI, December 30, 2017
The Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) has a new name on the winner’s trophy as world number 14 Kevin Anderson defeated Spain’s world number 20 Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) in one hour and 39 minutes at the International Tennis Center at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Saturday evening.
The Championship trophy was handed over to Anderson by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports. Also present were Homaid Al Shimmari, Deputy CEO, Mubadala Investment Company and John Lickrish, Chief Executive Officer, Flash Entertainment organisers of the MWTC.
Kevin Anderson and Roberto Bautista-Agut
In the Championship match, the big-serving Anderson, who was in red hot form throughout the three days, continued his powering run as he broke Bautista Agut in the very first service game before going on to win the set in just 37 minutes.
The second set proved to be a far tighter affair as the Spaniard found his range. He broke Anderson in the second game, but the 6’8” South African used his serve to good effect as he broke right back. The contest then went on serve and in the tie-break, it was an absolute masterclass from Anderson as he took charge with aggressive play from the baseline to wrap up the set and match 7-6 (7-0).
After receiving his Championship trophy, which is officially sponsored by Lasvit, Anderson said, “It is obviously nice to get a win. It’s been three very good matches for me. In terms of my preparation I could not ask for more out of these matches. They were very close matches and I had to compete. I was able to implement a lot of the things we were working on during the off-season but overall I am very, very pleased with these last few days.”
Looking ahead to the new season, he said, “I’ve set big goals for next year. The year is just getting started, so there is a lot of tennis to be played. I’m really looking forward to the next few weeks and the new season.”
Thiem Beats Carreno Busta
Earlier in the day, Austrian world number 5 Dominic Thiem and Spain’s world number 10 Pablo Carreño Busta played out an exhibition match as both players prepare for the Australian Open.
Thiem, who was beaten by Anderson in yesterday’s semi-final, went on to win 6-3, 6-4 with the help of 11 aces in just over an hour. The world number five broke Carreño Busta’s serve in each of the two sets to register a comfortable victory. Carreño Busta has now lost 11 of his last 12 matches after losing to Kevin Anderson in the opening round of the MWTC and Russian Andrey Rublev for the fifth and sixth place play off.
After his match, Thiem said, “I’m very pleased with the way I served and it was the perfect preparation for me (ahead of the Australian Open). m quite satisfied with the way I played over these two days.”
Thousands of fans witnessed three-action packed days of tennis from some of the best players in the world. Due to its success, the organisers revealed during the trophy ceremony that the tournament will return in 2018, for the 11th consecutive year, and will be played between December 27-29.
The three-day MWTC, which is now well established as an annual season-opener, attracted thousands of fans who witnessed high-quality tennis action as the players battled it out for the winner takes all prize of US $250,000.
