Top-seeded Elina Svitolina suffered a “disappointing” 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova in her Dubai opener on Tuesday as America...
Top-seeded Elina Svitolina suffered a “disappointing” 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova in her Dubai opener on Tuesday as American teen sensation Coco Gauff fought “fire with fire” to come through a tension-fuelled second round against Marketa Vondrousova.
Fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova, meanwhile, was forced to retire through injury from her evening clash with Jil Teichmann.
Kuznetsova rallied back from a set and an early break down to knock out the two-time champion and record her 21st match-win in Dubai –- the highest tally among active WTA players.
The 35-year-old Russian is a three-time runner-up in the UAE showpiece and next has a last-16 showdown with Barbora Krejcikova, who ousted former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko.
“Obviously the loss is very tough because I think I started the match quite good and I was feeling good going into the tournament and I really love to play here in Dubai. The result is really disappointing,” said the fifth-ranked Svitolina.
Contesting a seventh consecutive three-set match, Gauff needed two hours to dismiss the Czech 12th seed 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and set up a third-round meeting with qualifier Tereza Martincova.
The contest took on an edge when 16-year-old Gauff complained to the umpire about how Vondrousova was catching her ball toss with her racquet instead...
