DUBAI // Earlier this month, during the Fed Cup week, when Russia played host to Chinese Taipei in Moscow, Ekaterina Makarova found some time to flick through her tennis album and discovered something weird.
“I looked at my earlier photographs from matches, and my face was quite relaxed,” said Makarova, a former world No 8 who is now ranked No 37. “And then I started looking at the more recent photographs, and it’s so ugly.
“At that moment I realised I’m so stressed and so tight during my matches in recent time. Then I went to practise and I felt that I’m so tight, so I just tried to relax.”
That chance discovery certainly helped Makarova against world No 5 Dominika Cibulkova in Dubai on Tuesday afternoon, as the Russian stayed calm in the deciding set to beat the Sloavak for a second consecutive time (6-2, 4-6, 6-2) and book her place in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
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A winner over Cibulkova in the third round of the Australian Open last month, her first win in four attempts, a confident Makarova also edged their second duel of this year.
Makarova, obviously, was relieved. When she arrived here, the Russian did not have a single win in a regular Tour event — outside the Australian Open and the Fed Cup — with first-round loses in Brisbane, Sydney and St Petersburg.
But Makarova, 28, can be excused for letting up after achieving a lifelong dream of winning an Olympic gold in Rio last year.
“Last year, I was putting everything towards winning the Olympic gold medal,” said Makarova, who won the doubles gold alongside Elena Vesnina. “My dream was just to win the gold medal and that’s it.
“After the London Games, I was telling to my coach, I will play the Rio Games and then I will finish playing tennis. I just want the gold medal and nothing else. But when it happened, I felt, ‘Yeah, I’m not too tired,’ and that I still want to keep playing.”
Makarova’s yearning for an Olympic gold is understandable. In Russia, it is considered the zenith of sporting achievement and success brings some glittering rewards — the President of the country gifted a BMW X6 to the gold medal winners from Rio, a BMW X5 to the silver medallists and a BMW X4 to the bronze medal winners.
“It’s a very big thing in Russia,” said Makarova. “We get a lot of money and … we get the car from the President, you know. In no other country will you get this. And when you are Olympic champion, wherever you want to go they will let you go because it’s a very big status in Russia.”
Muguruza injured
Garbine Muguruza, the tournament’s No 5 seed, is out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, forced to retire after just five games of her second-round match against Kateryna Bondarenka due to a left ankle injury.
The 2016 French Open champion, playing her first match after a first-round bye, called for a trainer early in the match and eventually decided to retire, trailing 1-4 in the opening set.
Second-round results
• [1] A Kerber (GER) beat [WC] M Barthel (GER) 6-4, 6-3
• K Mladenovic (FRA) beat [2] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 6-2, 6-4
• E Makarova (RUS) beat [3] D Cibulkova 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
• [4] A Radwanska (POL) beat [Q] E Mertens (BEL) 6-3, 6-2
• K Bondarenko (UKR) beat [5] G Muguruza (ESP) 1-4 - Retired
• [8] E Vesnina (RUS) beat M Doi (JPN) 6-2, 7-5
• [WC] S Peng (CHN) beat [9] B Strycova (CZE) 6-3, 6-2
• [10] C Wozniacki (DEN) beat V Golubic (SUI) 6-4, 6-2.
• A Konjuh (CRO) beat [12] S Stosur (AUS) 6-4, 6-3
• M Puig (PUR) beat [15] C Garcia (FRA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
• C Bellis (USA) beat L Siegemund (GER) 7-5, 7-6(3)
• Q Wang (CHN) beat [Q] O Jabeur (TUN) 6-3, 6-1
• L Davis (USA) beat Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
• C McHale (USA) beat N Osaka (JPN) 6-3, 6-4
• A Sevastova (LAT) beat A Riske (USA) 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2
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