10.43 AM Friday, 29 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 04:56 06:10 12:26 15:53 18:37 19:52
29 March 2024

Stosur advances into Dubai Open quarter-finals

Samantha Stosur of Australia hits a return to Lucie Safarova of Czech Republic during their women's singles match at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday. (REUTERS)

Published
By Agencies

Samantha Stosur appears to have her best chance to win a first title since the US Open after reaching the quarter-finals of the $2 millionDubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

It is five months since the Australian captured the first Grand Slam title of her career in New York, but during her 6-1, 6-7 (7/5), 6-1 win over Lucie Safarova she showed glimpses of a return to title-winning form.

Safarova, who beat former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in Doha last week, found more chances to flay her left-handed forehand cross court into Stosur's backhand in the second set.

But in the third Stosur was able to re-impose her serve, one of the finest in the women's game, and with some help of some forceful follow-ups, restored the earlier patterns of the match.

"I don't think I did much wrong in the second set and thought I played a good match," said Stosur. "I held serve and in the third set I took my opportunities to break."

Stosur's cause may also have been significantly aided by top-seeded Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka pulling out shortly before her first round match with an ankle injury.

That follows the pre-tournament absence of the second-seeded Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. Both players had been placed in Stosur's half.

With Li Na, the French Open champion from China, missing with a bad back, and Vera Zvonareva, the former Wimbledon finalist from Russia, absent with a hip problem, the draw has opened up for her invitingly.

Stosur next plays Jelena Jankovic, the former world number one from Serbia, who reached the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Flavia Pennetta, last year's conqueror of Azarenka.

Still playing with a tear in her bandaged left thigh, Jankovic recovered well from an early 1-3 deficit, adopting a more positive approach and finding a good combination of aggression with consistency.

Asked if she was surprised at Azarenka's withdrawal, Jankovic said: "We play pretty much all year round. You know, I think sometimes the schedule is tough, because after Melbourne most of us had Fed Cup.

"The ones who played had to fly from warm Melbourne, which is 30 degrees, and you go to minus 20 somewhere in Europe, and then you go again to a warm place, you know, here, Dubai, indoor, outdoor.

"That's really not easy to do. It's tough on our bodies. I got injured in Fed Cup. I pulled my muscle. So all the players have some issues."

Agnieszka Radwanska, the fifth seeded Pole who overcame Shahar Peer 7-5, 6-4 on a strictly monitored outside court, had a different interpretation of the casualty list which has left her one of the three most likely players to win the title.

"It's also an explanation that sometimes in the off season the girls are doing too much," she said. "Then suddenly you have some tough match in the beginning of the year and then it's too much for the body."

Radwanska now plays Sabine Lisicki, the Wimbledon semi-finalist from Germany.

Caroline Wozniacki began the defence of her Dubai title on Wednesday with a 6-2 6-3 win over Simona Halep.

Wozniacki needed patience as she sought to gain the upper hand against Halep, but after breaking serve to lead 4-2 she took control against an erratic opponent by also winning the next five games. Halep offered more resistance after falling behind 3-0 in the second set, but Wozniacki remained in control and closed out the match when her opponent netted a backhand.

“It's a great feeling to be back,” said the 2011 Dubai champion. “You see your pictures everywhere. I see my picture together with all the other champions, and lifting the trophy, it's a great feeling. I wish it could be like this every week.

“It's a tournament that I enjoy playing. The crowds were decent today as well so it's nice to see that I have some fans here. They were definitely yelling pretty loud out there.”

Daniela Hantuchova also reached the quarter-finals with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 win over Shuai Peng, Ana Ivanovic outplayed Maria Kirilenko 6-2 7-6, and Julia Goerges took just 44 minutes to sweep aside Casey Dellacqua 6-0 6-2.

“Once again we were able to enjoy tennis of the highest quality,” said tournament director Salah Tahlak. “Julia Goerges was especially impressive in the way that she followed up her win over Svetlana Kuznetsova with such an overwhelming performance against Casey Dellacqua.”

The WTA Tour event continues until Saturday. The ATP Tournament commences on Monday featuring eight of the world’s top 10, including reigning Dubai, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, four-time winner Roger Federer, sensational Scot Andy Murray, charismatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and recent Montpellier winner Tomas Berdych.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets for the event are available from the Box Office at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Garhoud which is open from 9am to 9pm daily. Grandstand tickets can also be bought online at https://www.timeouttickets.com/. For further information about tickets, prices and the tournament visit https://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/ or phone the call centre on +971 4 358 9797.