Marketa Vondrousova welcomes tough opener against 'great player' Emma Raducanu in Abu Dhabi

World No 5 and defending champion Elena Rybakina earns first-round bye at Mubadala Open

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  Marketa Vondrousova addresses the crowd during the draw for the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open. All photos: Antonie Robertson/The National

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  Marketa Vondrousova helps make the draw for the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

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  Emma Raducanu at Zayed Sports City on the opening day of this year's tournament

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  Tunisia's Ons Jabeur before an interview with The National on the opening day of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

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  Fans arrive on the opening day

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  Spanish world No 10 Paula Badosa is ready for the tournament

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  Sonobe Wakana of Japan in action during qualifiers

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  Caroline Garcia of France in the Abu Dhabi sun

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  Leylah Fernandez of Canada signs autographs on the opening day of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

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  France's Caroline Garcia gives an interview with The National

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  Fans play games at Mubadala Tennis Village

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  Autograph hunters meet the some of the players at Zayed Sports City

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  Young tennis fans at play at Mubadala Tennis Village

Marketa Vondrousova faces a tough opening round match against Emma Raducanu in a clash of the two wildcards at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open.

The 2023 Wimbledon champion found herself paired with Britain's Raducanu following the draw ceremony at Zayed Sports City on Saturday evening.

“It's tough but it's nice to know who you're playing against first. I expect a tough match. She's a great player. I hope it's going to be a good one,” Vondrousova said on stage.

Vondrousova, 25, who has struggled with shoulder and back problems in recent times, added: “I actually felt great in Australia in the first matches and then I got injured. I didn't play for a couple of weeks but now I feel good, I'm healthy so I hope I'm going to stay healthy and play good tennis.”

Vondrousova and Raducanu are tied 1-1 head-to-head and this will be their first meeting on a hard court. The Czech holds a win on clay with Raducanu claiming victory on grass as an 18-year-old wildcard on her full Wimbledon debut in 2021. The winner of their clash will face Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.

Crowd favourite Ons Jabeur, who lost in three sets to Emma Navarro in the third round of the Australian Open, was paired with Jelena Ostapenko. The winner of that match will face either China's Yuan Yue or a qualifier. The world No 5, top seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina drew a first round bye.

Elsewhere in the main draw, which begins on Monday, Belinda Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, goes up against Rebecca Sramkova, Polina Kudermetova faces Liudmila Samsonova and Caroline Garcia, 2022 WTA Finals champion, plays Lulu Sun.

The man serving up the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open

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Kenin eyes good run after opening win in Abu Dhabi

Former world No 4 Sofia Kenin enjoyed a winning start to her qualifying campaign at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, moving past Japan’s Aoi Ito 7-6 (4), 6-2 in sunny but windy conditions at Zayed Sports City on Saturday.

The 2020 Australian Open champion has struggled with injuries and form in recent years and arrives in the UAE capital ranked 74 in the world in singles and 21 in doubles.

Kenin, who won the doubles title in Abu Dhabi last year alongside Bethanie-Mattek Sands, next takes on Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday for a place in the main draw – a standout qualifying match-up between two former top-10 players.

“I’m happy that I won. She’s obviously not an easy opponent to play, not much rhythm and I didn’t feel 100 per cent myself, but managed to get through that one. It was more mental for me today than physical,” Kenin told The National of her win over Ito on Saturday.

The American suffered a first-round exit to Coco Gauff at the Australian Open last month but had a positive start to the year overall, reaching the quarter-finals in Hobart and the round of 16 in Auckland.

“I’m just trying to climb up the rankings, trying to keep doing my best. I felt my rhythm and everything, I had a pretty good start to the season overall, better than last year. I won a round here, so that’s better than last year too, so hopefully I can keep it going.”

At 26, Kenin is still relatively young on the tennis tour but she has seen both sides of the spectrum when it comes to results, winning a grand slam and reaching the final of another before she dropped in the rankings and lost her momentum.

“It’s definitely ups and downs in tennis but we’re playing in such a beautiful facility, I love it here. Just take it one match at a time and not overthink it and enjoy the moment,” she said of her current approach to the sport. “Obviously it’s not always going to be ups, there’s going to be some lows and it’s a matter of how you pick yourself back up.”

With the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Gauff dominating the tour in recent seasons, Kenin firmly believes she can reach their level and make a return to the top five once again.

“Yes definitely. I feel like they’re playing the best tennis and there’s a reason why they’re there. If I keep my A-game on, I’ll be fine. But hopefully I don’t play them anytime soon in the tournament, maybe in the later rounds but not automatically first round, preferably,” she added with a laugh.

On the biggest lessons learned from her roller coaster journey since 2020, Kenin said: “It’s just a matter of who you have supporting around you. It’s about keeping the right mindset and doing the stuff that you can do from your side. Eventually it should click and believe in yourself, that’s the most important thing.”

Qualifying action resumes on Sunday at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open with the main draw kicking off on Monday.