BIG GUNS SWIATEK AND SABALENKA BREEZE INTO ROUND THREE

The top two seeds in this week’s WTA 1000 field are safely through to round three of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after making light work of their second-round matches on a topsy-turvy day for seeded players at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Following an afternoon session in which three of the top seven seeds fell to lower ranked opponents, World No.1 Iga Swiatek safely navigated a potentially tricky tie against Leylah Fernandez to keep her hopes of back-to-back WTA titles alive following her victory in Doha last weekend.

Prior to Swiatek taking to Centre Court, No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, needed only 59 minutes to tame Lauren Davis 6-0 6-1. After breaking the American in the second game, Sabalenka never looked back, sending an ominous warning to her rivals.

In the final match on Centre Court, the USA’s Coco Gauff needed just 1hr 10 minutes to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-0 6-4 and book her place in the third round, where she will play ninth seed Elena Rybakina. Wimbledon champion Rybakina beat Marie Bouzkova 7-5 6-2 in 1hr 43 minutes.

One of the day’s most eagerly anticipated matches played out in the women’s Doubles on Court 3, where Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova denied India’s Sania Mirza a fairytale ending to her storied career with a 6-4, 6-0 triumph. Having outlined her retirement plans pre-tournament, Mirza, who played alongside the USA’s Madison Keys in what proved to be the tennis icon’s final match, ends her playing days with a legacy of inspiring an entire generation of Indian tennis players and fans during a milestone-filled 18-year career.

Also on Court 3, defending Singles champion Jelena Ostapenko, the 13th seed, breezed into the Round of 16 with a ruthless dismantling of the Czech Republic’s Linda Fruhvirtova. The 13th seed needed only 54 minutes to notch up a near-flawless 6-2, 6-0 in victory.

Elsewhere, No.8 seed and 2019 Dubai champion Belinda Bencic was just 40 seconds short of breaking the record for the longest match of the WTA season, which was set on Monday when Sorana Cirstea beat 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in 3 hrs 28 minutes. Playing on Court One, Bencic recovered from a set down to beat Marta Kostyuk 6-7 7-6 6-4.