Ostapenko's struggles continue: WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 updates

A round-up from all the second-round matches at the Aviation Tennis Stadium.

epa06546997 Angelique Kerber of Germany in action against Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic during their first round match of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, United Arab Emirates, 20 February 2018.  EPA/MAHMOUD KHALED
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French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko's disappointing 2018 season continued as she was knocked out of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships by Elena Vesnina.

The Latvian world No 6 put in an erratic performance and was beaten 6-2, 7-6 in the second round on Centre Court.

Ostapenko, 20, was broken five times as she struggled for consistency on her serve and was unable to put pressure on her Russian opponent.

Vesnina now faces the winner of the match between seventh seed Johanna Konta and Daria Kasatkina.

epa06547237 Caroline Garcia of France in action during her first round match against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 20 February 2018.  EPA/MAHMOUD KHALED
Caroline Garcia recovered from an early break to defeat Ekaterina Makarova in the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships second round. Mahmoud Khaled / EPA

Garcia advances past Makarova

Caroline Garcia came back from being broken in her first service game to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The No 5 seed from France was slow out of the blocks against Russian Ekaterina Makanrova on Court One but quickly found her range to triumph 6-4, 6-2.

Garcia, who reached the semi-finals in Dubai in 2016, will go up against either No 2 seed Garbine Muguruza or CiCi Bellis on Thursday.

epa06546997 Angelique Kerber of Germany in action against Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic during their first round match of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, United Arab Emirates, 20 February 2018.  EPA/MAHMOUD KHALED
Angelique Kerber will face No 3 seed Karolina Pliskova for a place in the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals. Mahmoud Khaled / EPA

Kerber beats Errani to reach last-eight

Angelique Kerber had said on Tuesday that adjusting from playing in night conditions to playing in the afternoon sun could be a challenge at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

But there was no evidence of that as the 30-year-old German cantered into the quarter-finals with her second win in less than 24 hours.

Having dropped only three games in beating Barbara Strycova on Tuesday, the No 6 seed got the better of Sara Errani on Court One with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-2.

Next up for the two-time major winner is a match with Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

epa06549415 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in action against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 21 February 2018.  EPA/MAHMOUD KHALED
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in action against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain at the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Mahmoud Khaled / EPA

Pliskova fights back to see off Suarez Navarro

Karolina Pliskova survived an early scare before getting the better of Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

The world No 5 prevailed 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court to set up a quarter-final with either Angelique Kerber or Sara Errani on Thursday.

But Pliskova, the No 3 seed, was forced to work hard for her victory.

The Czech dropped the first set to the world No 27 after double faulting twice in the 12th game, but looked to have found her range again as she charged through the second set.

But the third set proved to be a roller-coaster affair with five breaks in the first seven games as both players struggled with their serve.

Pliskova held her nerve though and managed to put together two service games in a row to finally see off her tenacious Spanish opponent.

Naomi Osaka of Japan returns the ball to Anett Kontaveit of Estonia during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Naomi Osaka is through to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

Osaka first through to quarter-finals

Naomi Osaka is the first woman through to the quarter-finals of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after overcoming a late scare on Wednesday.

The world No 51 maintained her impressive form in 2018 as she defeated Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 7-6 in one hour and 32 minutes.

Osaka, 20, had looked as if she would win comfortably when she was 5-2 up in the second set. But Kontaveit rallied to win the next four games, and Osaka had to dig deep to force a tie-break which she won 7-5 to secure victory.

The Japanese player was one of the surprise packages of the Australian Open in January where she reached the fourth round before losing to eventual finalist Simona Halep.

Osaka will face either defending champion and top seed Elina Svitolina or Chinese player Qiang Wang, who contest the third match on Centre Court,  for a place in the semi-finals.

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Read more:

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: Games to watch and predictions for Day 3

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