With the news that top seeds Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber have each withdrawn from the 2016 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, our Jon Turner and Ahmed Rizvi select who they think are the new favourites to win the tournament.
Ahmed Rizvi: BELINDA BENCIC
Fans better watch out for this Swiss sensation. She might not be in the Top 10 yet, but is getting there pretty fast and is a hot tip to become the first teenaged grand slam champion in the women’s game since a 19-year-old Maria Sharapova won the US Open in 2006.
Bencic has already got some impressive wins on her resume. In Eastbourne last year, she defeated Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-final and then blanked Agnieszka Radwanska 6-0 in the third set of the final to win her first Tour title.
A few months later, she defeated six grand slam finalists, including 21-time grand slam champion Serena Williams, on her way to the Canadian Open title, and last week, she added another reigning grand slam champion to her list of scalps, drubbing Australian Open winner Kerber in straight sets in their Fed Cup tie.
Bencic, then, is certainly on a hot streak coming to Dubai and she is also in a much better situation health-wise than most of the Top 10 stars. So do not be surprised if a young, fearless 18 year old, who has already shown she can slug it out with the best, lifts the trophy at the end of the WTA week.
Read more: Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and the five players to watch at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships
Jon Turner: GARBINE MUGURUZA
Billed as the next big thing, world No 5 Muguruza spent 2015 displaying why she could be the future star of women’s tennis.
A maiden grand slam final at Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams, a first Premier 5 title at the China Open, and a surge into the world’s top three constituted an impressive breakthrough season for the Spaniard. She also fared well in Dubai last year, reaching the semi-finals by defeating the likes of Jelena Jankovic, Agnieszka Radwanska and Carla Suarez Navarro en route.
A player with power from the baseline and a dangerous serve, Muguruza’s attacking game is well suited to the faster Dubai hardcourts.
The retrieving side of her game remains an area for improvement but when she controls points, her trusty forehand carries her a long way.
A disappointing exit in the Round of 32 at the Australian Open was followed by successive straight sets victories in the Fed Cup last week, and a march to the latter stages in Dubai will be the least Muguruza will expect.
Such is the fierce competition in Dubai – shown by Williams’ inability to win here – means predicting a winner is a tough task, but Muguruza has the tools and temperament to clinch the 2016 title.
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