Svitolina stunned in second round
Top seed and former two-time champion Elina Svitolina suffered a shock defeat in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
After cruising through the first set, Svitolina looked to be on course for a routine win over Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the Russian veteran turned the match on its head by winning seven games in a row at the end of the second set and start of the third to register a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Svitlona managed to get a game on the board at 1-5, although not before facing two match points. But the 26-year-old Ukrainian was only delaying the inevitable as Kuznetsova clinched a fine comeback victory on serve.
Kuznetsova, who has reached the Dubai final three times, faces Barbora Krejcikova in the third round following the Czech's 6-1, 6-3 win over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Sabalenka too strong for Cornet
Aryna Sabalenka delivered a comfortable win over former finalist Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-4 in their second round match at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
Sabalenka, who started her season by winning the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Open in January, started the match with her trademark firepower, blowing Cornet off the court as she stormed into a 5-0 lead.
Cornet managed to halt the onslaught by breaking in the sixth game, but the damage had already been done in the first set.
The second set proved to be more competitive, with neither player holding serve for the first five games, but it was third seed Sabalenka who gained the initial advantage when she moved into a 4-2 lead.
Cornet, who reached the 2014 Dubai final, refused to go quietly and the French world No 59 broke back to level at 4-4. Parity only lasted one game, though, as Sabalenka broke again and the Belarusian closed out the victory on her first match point after one hour and 27 minutes.
Sabalenka, 23, will next take on Estonian 15th seed Anett Kontaveit, who defeated Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 7-5.
Bencic battles into third round
Former champion Belinda Bencic earned a hard-fought victory over Veronika Kudermetova to book her place in the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Bencic, who won the title in 2019, broke with ease in the first game of the match but that did not prove a sign of things to come as Kudermetova went toe-to-toe with the Swiss.
The Russian world No 34 got the break back in the sixth game to level the set at 3-3 but was broken again to give Bencic the chance to serve out the opener at 5-4.
Kudermetova, who reached the final of the Abu Dhabi WTA Women's Tennis Open in January, took the initiative in the second set to lead 4-1, and after Bencic clawed her way back at 4-4, the Russian broke in the 12th game to level the match.
In the third set, both players stayed solid on serve aside for one dip from Kudermetova in the fifth game. That break proved costly as sixth seed Bencic won the remainder of her service games to claim the victory in two hours and 38 minutes.
Bencic, 23, will take on another Russian in the third round after Anastasia Potapova stunned 11th seed Madison Keys earlier on Court 1.
Pliskova grinds through
Karolina Pliskova needed three sets to reach the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships having looked to be cruising to victory.
Pliskova, seeded second, comfortably won the first set and served for the match at 5-4 in the second, only for her usually dominant serve to falter against Anastasija Sevastova. The Czech world No 6 quickly responded and maintained her aggression in the decider to claim two breaks and wrap up a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 victory in two hours and nine minutes.
Pliskova, playing her first match of the tournament having received a first-round bye, got off to a shaky start off after being broken to trail 1-2, but the Czech soon gained control of the first set.
She broke straight back to level at 2-2, which started a run of four straight games and after fending off two break points, served out the opener.
The world No 6 gained the immediate advantage in the second set with the break for 1-0 and her big serving limited Sevastova's hopes of getting back into the contest.
Pliskova was serving for the match at 5-4 when Sevastova managed to convert her fourth break point chance, having saved two match points.
The second set tiebreak looked to be going Pliskova's way when she took a 4-1 lead, but Sevastova once again fought her back as the Czech's usually dominant serve faltered. Pliskova, typically a composed character on the court, showed her frustration by slamming her racquet on the ground.
The 2015 Dubai finalist quickly regrouped, though, and her power and aggression paid dividends in the third set. After the first five games went with serve, Pliskova earned her breakthrough and ultimately ended Sevastova's stubborn resistance by winning four games in a row to claim the win.
Pliskova, 28, will face Jessica Pegula in the third round after the American thrashed or France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-2.
Keys suffers shock loss
Madison Keys became the first seeded player to tumble at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday after the American suffered a shock loss to Anastasia Potapova.
Keys, seeded 11th and playing just her third match of the season having missed the Australian swing with Covid-19, went down 6-4, 6-3 to the world No 88 Russian.
In a first set that saw both players struggle to hold serve – three successive breaks were exchanged from the second to seventh games – Keys and Potapova managed to get service games on the board, but the American was broken to love when serving to stay in the set.
The serving problems continued into the second set as neither player held for the first four games, but three straight games for Potapova gave the Russian the advantage.
Both players then managed to stay on serve for the remainder of the match as Potapova closed out the victory to love in one hour and 25 minutes.
Potapova will play 2019 champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the third round.
Order of play
Centre Court
From 12pm
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) [2] bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [3] bt Alizé Cornet (FRA) 6-2, 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) bt Elina Svitolina (UKR) [1] 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
Not before 7pm
Petra Kvitova (CZE) [4] vs Jil Teichmann (SUI)
Ons Jabeur (TUN) vs Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [14]
Court 1
From 12pm
[WC] Anastasia Potapova (RUS) bt Madison Keys (USA) [11] 6-4, 6-3
[Q] Tereza Martincova (CZE) bt Kiki Bertens (NED) [5] 6-1, 6-4
Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt [LL] Martina Trevisan (ITA) 6-2, 6-4
Iga Swiatek (POL) [8] bt [LL] Misaki Doi (JPN) 6-2, 6-4
Amanda Anisimova (USA) vs Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) [9]
Court 2 - from 12pm
[WC] Cori Gauff (USA) bt Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) [12] 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Jessica Pegula (USA) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-1, 6-2
Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) bt Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 6-3, 6-1
Court 3 - from 12pm
Belinda Bencic (SUI) [6] bt Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Anett Kontaveit (EST) [15] bt Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 6-4, 7-5
Elise Mertens (BEL) [10] bt Shelby Rogers (USA) 6-3, 6-4
