The star-studded WTA1000 field at the Dubai Duty Free Championships delivered drama aplenty yesterday at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
After a handful of marathon clashes earlier in the day on Centre Court, ninth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the reigning Wimbledon champion and a losing finalist at this year’s Australian Open, defeated Canada’s Bianca Andreescu 6-3, 6-4 under floodlights and moonlight to advance to the Round of 32 (R32).
“I’m happy that I managed to win with a few ups and downs in the second set,” said Rybakina, a beaten finalist in Dubai three years ago.
In the day’s penultimate match on Centre Court, Jelena Ostapenko, the defending women’s champion, 2017 French Open winner, and this year’s 13th seed in Dubai, stormed past Ukrainian Katarina Zavatska without surrendering a breakpoint in a routine 6-1, 6-4 win.
Elsewhere in the women’s Round of 64, two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, the 15th seed in Dubai, dug deep to dispatch Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 7-5, while the USA’s Shelby Rogers defeated compatriot Claire Liu in straight sets on Court 1.
Liu, who entered the draw as a lucky loser following the withdrawal of 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Sunday evening, could not compete with Rogers’ consistent baseline play and succumbed 6-4, 6-4.
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