As the action kicked off on Sunday at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Championships, there was disappointing news for fans as three more big names withdrew at the last minute – Zheng Qinwen and Maria Sakkari due to illness and Karolina Muchova due to fatigue – following closely on the heels of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who both withdrew on Thursday.
No one likes to progress like this, and while I’m on tour I’m really starting to discover how hard it is to maintain your health at this level, so I really hope Hailey does well and gets better soon. I’m super happy to be in the next round. These tournaments are such great experiences for me, so I really try my best to enjoy every moment I have on the court. Alexandra Eala
Muchova’s decision came a day after winning her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha, where she mastered 19-year-old Victoria Mboko 6-4 7-5 in the final to win the Czech’s second singles title, six years after her first at the WTA 250 Korea Open in 2019.
“I haven’t had a second to think about anything yet, but I’ll definitely go to Dubai tomorrow, see how I feel and then decide,” Muchova said. wtatennis.com on Saturday.
The 29-year-old Czech was due to face Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima in the first round, who will now meet lucky loser Anastasia Zakharova of Russia on Monday.
As for Zheng, the 2024 Olympic champion from China, was due to face American Peyton Stearns, who instead defeated her lucky loser, Magdalena Frech of Poland, 6-4 6-2 to advance on Sunday afternoon.
Zheng returned to the tour in Doha and made it to the Last 16, where she narrowly fell to Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, 4-6 6-2 7-5.
‘I hope so [by] If you play more matches, this will get better,” Zheng said after playing Rybakina.[I’m] always looking for things to improve, and that’s what I see this week.”
After elbow surgery last July, Zheng made a brief return at the China Open in October, but retired in her second match and then ended her season to focus on her recovery.
She withdrew from the Australian Open, noting that she was not yet at the level needed to compete in a Grand Slam, but reported that her recovery was smooth.
In just her first few games back, Zheng showed solid form in Doha, but now the illness has left her out of action this week in Dubai.
Zheng, ranked 26th, is currently on the entry list for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the third WTA 1000 event of the season, as are Sabalenka, Swiatek and Sakkari.
Greece’s current world number 52, Sakkari, who will rise 33 next week, was set for a crucial first-round match against 16th seed Iva Jovic, but the 18-year-old American will now face lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova, a Russian-born Uzbek.
The 30-year-old Greek turned back the clock in Doha last week, winning four games on the trot and upsetting top seed Swiatek before being defeated by Muchova in the semi-finals on Friday evening.
She reluctantly left the court to think about the next WTA 1000 tournament.
“Right now I have no energy at all,” said Sakkari, the former world number 3. “I need food. I need fuel… I hope the supervisor puts me on Monday.”
© François Nel/Getty Images
Sunday’s first round in Dubai saw 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek, the Abu Dhabi champion, trailing just four games to beat Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-2 6-2 in a match between two wildcards.
Bejlek needed an hour and 15 minutes to secure her eighth straight match in the Middle East this month, with both players hitting 15 winners and picking up five double faults, but the Czech played the bigger points better.
The Czech converted six of her 10 break point chances, while Sonmez made just two of seven, three of which came as the Turk tried to find a way back early in the second set as Bejlek held serve from 0-40 down.
“Mentally it was a very tough match, so I’m happy with how I did and how I played tonight,” Bejlek said in her on-court interview after her first match as a Top 40 player. “[Eight straight wins] sounds great! I’m very happy with how I’m playing on the field and how I feel.”
20-year-old Alexandra Eala advanced to Round 2 in Dubai after lucky loser Hailey Baptiste retired early in the second set on Sunday
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Earlier, Alexandra Eala advanced when her opponent, lucky loser Hailey Baptiste of the USA, fell 6-4, 1-0 in favor of the Filipina.
Playing at a career-high ranking of No. 40, Eala captured a back-and-forth first set against Baptiste after about 45 minutes, before the American pulled the plug a match later.
The world number 39 had lost to Rebecca Sramkova in the final qualifying round to earn a second chance in the main draw, but she was unable to continue after enduring a 7-deuce service hold to start the second set.
“No one likes to progress like this, and now that I’m on tour I’m really starting to discover how hard it is to maintain your health at this level, so I really hope Hailey is doing well and bouncing back soon,” Eala said afterwards. “I’m super happy to be in the next round. These tournaments are such great experiences for me, so I’m really trying my best to enjoy every moment I have on the court.”
Leylah Fernandez caused the first disappointment on the court when she defeated 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova in three sets in Dubai on Sunday
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Meanwhile, No. 13 Liudmila Samsonova was the first seed to officially fall after Muchova and Zheng’s withdrawal, as Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist, came from a set down to upset the Russian 5-7 7-5 6-3, dropping Samsonova to 0-5 in 3-set matches this season.
Elsewhere on Day 1, Australian qualifier Kimberly Birrell defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-4 3-6 7-5, overcoming nine double faults, and will face Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan’s top seed, in round 2; while Indonesian Janice Tjen rolled past Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 6-4 6-1, and started her campaign strongly by winning almost 80% of her service points and 64% of Yastremska’s second service points.
Linda Noskova, the 10th seed from the Czech Republic, got back on track to eliminate Ann Li 6-3 5-7 6-4, despite the American’s twelve aces, and scored four crucial break points in the win; and also Diana Shnaider, the 20-year-old from Russia, hit a perfect 6-for-6 on break point opportunities to complete a 6-4 6-1 win over Australia’s Maya Joint, her first since the Australian Open.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova made a good impression in Dubai on day 1 with a routine victory over veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
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Former French Open and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic scored a routine 6-4 6-4 win over Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and the 2023 Dubai champion will next face No. 2 Amanda Anisimova of the US in the second round on Monday.
Belgium’s Elise Mertens cruised past another Czech, Marie Bouzkova, 6-2 6-2; while German qualifier Eva Seidel was a 6-1 6-4 winner over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa; and late into the night, Poland’s Magda Linette won 4-6 6-4 6-1 over New Zealand wildcard Lulu Sun.
British interest in Dubai this week lies solely with Emma Raducanu in the singles, who plays Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Monday, after Sonay Kartal lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4 6-3 in the second qualifying round after beating Australia’s Storm Hunter 6-4 6-1 in Q1.
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