Early rounds promise great battles at Dubai tennis
dubai — World No. 2 Simona Halep may have pulled out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a foot injury, but tennis aficionados in the UAE will still get to watch some of the biggest players in action when the tournament begins on Monday.
Leading the field of world-class players will be defending champion Elina Svitolina. The world No. 3 from Ukraine will hope to join the rare league of players that have defended the Dubai WTA title in the past.
Belgian icon Justine Henin defended the Dubai title twice (2004 and 2007) and Venus Williams is the only other player to have achieved that feat in 2010.
The 23-year-old Svitolina, whose biggest goal in life is to become the world No. 1, would be proud to join the two legends in an exclusive Dubai club. But it’s unlikely to be an easy affair for the Ukrainian. Svitolina has a first-round bye in Dubai, but she could meet the talented Dutch player Kiki Bertens, the 2016 French Open semifinalist, in the next round.
“It is a pleasure to welcome back our defending champion Elina Svitolina, who has achieved so much since claiming the title here last year that she is our number one seed this week,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, at the draw for the WTA event on Saturday.
“It will be very interesting to see if she can retain her title against what is once again a world-class field of top stars, including two reigning Grand Slam champions. We wish everyone well and look forward to many exciting matches.”
It’s also going to be a tough challenge for Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza. In her opening game, the second seeded player from Spain will have to deal with the winner of the first round clash between Catherine Bellis and Elise Mertens.
Muguruza, the world No. 4, has also got a first round bye, but she will face a test of character in her opening match as Bellis is one of the most talented youngsters in the game today, and Mertens, on the other hand, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.
Karolina Pliskova, the 2015 Dubai runner-up, is the third seed and she is likely to face veteran Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round. French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko also faces a tricky second round game against the winner of the first round match between Shuai Peng and Elena Vesnina.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, whose return to competitive tennis after a horrific knife attack was the most heartwarming tennis story last year, faces an uphill battle against Anett Kontaveit, the 22-year-old Estonian who stunned Ostapenko at the Australian Open.
There will be another great first round battle between two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber and Barbora Strycova, the 2016 Dubai finalist. “It is fascinating that so many of our seeded players face such strong opposition in their opening matches,” said Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director. “So many of the players competing this week have enjoyed great success and have proved themselves capable of winning against the toughest opponents. Clearly, no-one is guaranteed success and every match is certain to be fiercely contested.”