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Credit One Bank Day 6: Brady, Mattek-Sands lead Team Peace to victory

By Brandon Daniels

Jennifer Brady of the US celebrates her victory against Ashleigh Barty of Australia during their women's singles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 9, 2020. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)
Jennifer Brady of the US celebrates her victory against Ashleigh Barty of Australia during their women's singles match at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 9, 2020. (Photo by Patrick HAMILTON / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP /AFP via Getty Images) /
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Team Peace emerges victorious (26-16) at the Credit One Bank Invitational behind the stellar play of Jennifer Brady and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Day 6 of the Credit One Bank Invitational saw Team Peace emerge victorious over Team Kindness 26-16. The winning team, led by Bethanie Mattek-Sands seemed like the weaker team going into the tournament but the immense amount of planning and strategy that went into each matchup.

It was planned to perfection and her team ran away with the victory over the last few days. After a 4-4 split of the one-point matches, Team Peace took five of the eight two-point matches and 4 of the 6 three-point matches. This was the biggest difference-maker in Team Peace’s win.

How did Team Peace get the win?

Team Peace needed two wins today to take the victory. Team Kindness started out hot, however, and took the first match of the day. Shelby Rogers defeated Peace Captain Bethanie Mattek-Sands 7-5, 7-5, to cut the lead to 4 points. This meant that Team Kindness had to win 3 of the 4 doubles matches to take the win, in comparison Team Peace’s two.

The first doubles match of the day was Team Peace’s duo, Eugenie Bouchard and Jennifer Brady, against Team Kindness’ Madison Keys and Allison Riske. Brady has been on fire this tournament and came into the match 3-0. Bouchard has also put together a solid showing, most notably in doubles.

The Brady/Bouchard duo was incredibly solid and easily defeated Keys and Riske 6-3, 6-2. Keys’ errors over the last couple days of the tournament were clear and today was no question. The Team Peace victory got them to 23-16, needing only one point to seal the deal.

The finishing touch for Team Peace came in the very next match. The dynamic duo, Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, faced off against Team Kindness’ Victoria Azarenka and Amanda Anisimova. It was a textbook victory for the Team Peace pair (6-3, 6-4). Mattek-Sands was all over the net and converted many key points for her team and Kenin played just as well. Azarenka and Anisimova were no match as Team Peace rolled to victory.

Mattek-Sands planned her lineup expertly, relying not on statistical talent but rather on the individual strengths of her players. This gave them the ability to face off and defeat Team Kindness members that are ranked higher in the WTA rankings.

Jennifer Brady deserves an MVP for her performance this week. She went 4-0 and gathered 9 points for her team. She took everyone down in both singles and doubles. She was easily the best player overall and proved to be a brilliant pick by Mattek-Sands.

The two teenagers, Emma Navarro and Leylah Fernandez, showed a ton of potential this week. They’re primed to be the future of women’s tennis alongside Coco Gauff, Kenin, and Bianca Andreescu.

dark. Next. UTS Day 6: Thiem finds a groove, Tsitsipas new #1

There’s a bright future in women’s tennis and it was all on display at the Credit One Bank Invitational.

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