New Delhi: Former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur and Elina Svitolina won their round of 64 matches in the Qatar Open in Doha. Jabeur needed only 56 minutes to dismiss McCartney Kessler 6-2, 6-0 on Centre Court but it was much tougher for Svitolina.
The Ukrainian had to dig deep to overcome Marketa Vondrousova 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 54 minutes in a clash between former top 10 players.
Svitolina was down by a break early in the deciding set and failed to capitalise on a match point at 5-4. But she stuck to her task and broke to win later.
The former World No. 3 Svitolina edged to a 4-3 lead in her head-to-head rivalry with former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova.
Svitolina will next face sixth seed Jessica Pegula, who was runner-up at the US Open last year. Svitolina trails 2-4 in their head-to-head count but won their most recent meeting at the Paris Olympics last year.
Letlah Fernandez notched up a top 10 win, beating eighth seed Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2. World No. 27 Fernandez needed only 66 minutes to register her eighth career top 10 win and now leads head-to-head 3-1 count over Navarro.
‘High level’
Making her 10th Doha main-draw appearance, Jabeur began with a bang to swat 57th-ranked Kessle and next takes on seventh seed Zheng Qinwen.
Zheng holds a 2-0 advantage over Jabeur in head-to-head count though it will be their first meeting since the 2023 US Open.
“I thought I played really good today. The level was very high. I definitely played my game, and listened to my coach, probably for the first time,” Jabeur said with a smile after her win.
Second seed Iga Swiatek stayed on course for a fourth title in Doha with a straight sets win in the second round. The former World No.1 Swiatek beat Sakkari 6-3,6-2 in a round of 32 clash at the hard-court tournament.
The World No. 2 Swiatek received a bye in th first round is looking to win a tournament for the first time in eight months since winning the French Open last year.
Elina Svitolina defeated Marketa Vondrousova 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 54 minutes in a clash between former top 10 players. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
