Rybakina makes winning start at Dubai Tennis
KEYS ROMPS TO A 6-1, 6-1 VICTORY OVER QUALIFIER LIANG ON DEBUT
Elena Rybakina overcame a second set fightback from Saisai Zheng to reach the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships yesterday, winning 6-0, 6-4.
She was joined there by Madison Keys, who marked her Dubai debut by taking just 64 minutes to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over qualifier En-Shuo Liang.
In a late game, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza held off a solid challenge from qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu to win 6-3 7-5 and move into the second round.
Rybakina enjoyed an incredible start to last season, reaching four finals in her first five tournaments and winning Hobart before her momentum was halted by the Covid pandemic.
She came desperately close to claiming the Dubai title, upsetting recently crowned Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and world No 3 Karolina Pliskova to reach the final, where in one of the most thrilling contests ever played on the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium centre court she came within two points of victory against Simona Halep in a nailbiting final set tiebreak.
“Elena Rybakina’s performances during last year were outstanding,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive ViceChairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free. “It was interesting to see such a talented new face competing so well against such formidable opposition, and we welcome her back and wish her well.”
Solid challenge
After giving up just five points on serve in the opening set, Rybakina appeared to be coasting to a comfortable victory as she broke to lead 3-1 in the second. But her opponent then began to offer a solid challenge and Rybakina was relieved to close out the match in straight sets.
“Overall, I thought I played not a bad match,” said Rybakina. “I’m happy to come here again. It’s a pity there are not the crowd here like before, but
I’ll try to do my best this week.”
Keys tested positive for Covid-19 in January and, instead of flying to compete at the Australian Open, she was forced to self-isolate at home. As a result, the only tournament she has competed in since playing at the French Open in September is last week’s Doha event, where she defeated 2019 Dubai champion Belinda Bencic before falling in the second round to Maria Sakkari.
“I feel good about today,” said Keys. “I played a really clean first set, and in the second set I had some break points against me but I thought I handled them pretty well and kept the momentum.”