Dubai tennis: Wozniacki battles back to overcome Lisicki

Former world number one and Dubai 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki battled back from losing the opening set to overcome 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, winning 2-6 6-3 6-3. Another former world number one and number five seed, Jelena Jankovic, had to fight hard to get past qualifier Maryna Zanevska, winning 6-4 6-3.

“I worked really hard. It was not easy for my first match here,” said Jankovic. “I just came from Doha like one day ago, so it's completely different. Playing there during the night it's slower, and here it's faster and the balls fly.

Another former world number one and number five seed, Jelena Jankovic, had to fight hard to get past qualifier Maryna Zanevska, winning 6-4 6-3. (Supplied)

“It was quite windy out there, and I felt kind of like I couldn't play my game totally, you know, play the lines.”

Halep retires

Simona Halep was forced to retire with a right Achilles injury at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday, handing a first round 6-1 1-1 victory to Alize Cornet.

The world number nine, who came into Dubai immediately after claiming her seventh career title in Doha on Sunday, received treatment after Cornet had broken to lead 4-1.

There was initially little sign of the injury in some furiously-contested rallies, but as the match progressed Halep eventually lost some mobility and finally accepted that she was no longer able to compete effectively.

“I have an inflammation at my Achilles. So when I jump with my serve and when I stop at the rallies, I feel the pain,” said Halep. “I wanted to try, because I like to try to fight for my chance, but here I couldn't. After one set I realized that it is dangerous to continue.”

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.