Jabeur makes quick progress
Ons Jabeur wasted little time in booking her place in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships second round after cruising past Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-3.
The Tunisian world No 31 was up against a potentially tricky opponent, but once she claimed her first break of serve for a 3-1 lead, it was largely smooth-sailing. Jabeur then extended her first set advantage with a second break in the eighth game to close out the set.
Jabeur, 26, broke at the first opportunity of the second set for her fourth game in a row, but Siniakova managed to halt her slump with an immediate break back. After exchanging service holds, Jabeur reclaimed the advantage to take a 4-2 lead before serving out the victory in just 65 minutes.
Jabeur will face either 14th Elena Rybakina or China's Saisai Zheng in the second round.
Ruthless efficiency 💨@Ons_Jabeur is into Round 2 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Siniakova.#DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/aNc8jskKz9
— wta (@WTA) March 7, 2021
Kudermetova wins all-Russian clash
Veronika Kudermetova emerged victorious from an all-Russian encounter after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Sunday.
After early break exchanges in the second and third games, the first set went the rest of the way with serve and it was Kudermetova who played the better tiebreak to claim the opener.
After a tightly-contested first set, the second was controlled by the world No 34, who broke in the first and fifth games while remaining firm on her own serve.
Trailing 4-1, world No 41 Pavlyuchenkova dug deep to claim one of the breaks back at the fourth attempt, but her hopes of an unlikely comeback were short-lived as Kudermetova broke again to give herself the chance to serve for the match. She did so comfortably and claimed the win in one hour and 45 minutes when Pavlyuchenkova sent a return wide.
Kudermetova, who recently enjoyed success in the UAE with a run to the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open final in January, will take on 2019 Dubai champion Belinda Bencic in the second round.
Kuznetsova books Svitolina showdown
Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame a mid-match wobble to defeat Qiang Wang 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Kuznetsova, 35, started the match slowly and fell behind 0-3 after failing to take any of the six break points she created. However, the Russian reeled off five games in a row to take control of the first set before ultimately closing it out.
Qiang, 29, quickly regrouped to dominate the second set, racing into a 5-0 lead as the Chinese world No 35 became far more solid on serve.
It was Qiang who took the early initiative in the decider when she broke for a 2-1 lead, but Kuznetsova responded immediately to level. The next four games went with serve until Qiang broke to lead 5-4.
Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion and three-times finalist in Dubai, once again fought straight back to level at 5-5. The former world No 2 used that momentum to apply pressure with Qiang serving to stay in the match, and after moving into a 0-40 lead, sealed victory on her second match point after two hours and 21 minutes.
Kuznetsova will take on top seed and former two-times champion Elina Svitolina in the second round. The Ukrainian world No 5 has received a first round bye.
Order of play
Centre Court
Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Qiang Wang 6-4, 1-6, 7-5
Veronika Kudermetova bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6, 6-2
Ons Jabeur bt Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-3
Cori Gauff v Ekaterina Alexandrova
Barbora Krejcikova v Maria Sakkari (16)
Court 1
Alize Cornet bt Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Anastasija Sevastova bt Bernarda Pera 6-0, 6-3
