DUBAI // The dreaded fourth quarter of this year’s WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships draw has claimed another victim.
First, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was knocked out by Ons Jabeur, then Coco Vandeweghe joined her through the exit door, knocked out by Alison Riske. On Tuesday, Karolina Pliskova, winner of two titles in the first seven weeks of the season, was turfed out as well, along with last year’s beaten Dubai finalist Barbora Strycova.
Winner in Doha last week, Pliskova, the second seed and world No 3, looked listless in her opening match of the tournament on Tuesday, and was dumped out 6-2, 6-4 by another form-player, Dubai-resident Kristina Mladenovic, who won the title in St Petersburg this month.
“I didn’t feel my tennis at all,” said Pliskova, who won the Brisbane International last month and boasted a 15-1 win-loss record for the year coming to Dubai. “The conditions here are totally different compared to Doha. “I was just playing really bad, so there is not much what you can do about it. I still had a chance in the second set to change things, but yeah, she played some good points. But I didn’t play almost anything today. A few aces, and that’s it.”
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Read more
■ Day 4: Order of play
■ Garbine Muguruza: Achilles injury flares again
■ Day 3: Makarova upsets Cibulkova to advance to third round
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Pliskova’s biggest regret was the three break points she failed to convert in the 10th game of the second set when Mladenovic, serving for the match, found herself 40-15 down.
“She definitely wanted to be there and to win, and I could feel the pressure,” Mladenovic said. “The last game, I was serving quite well, and she returns a couple of first serves very deep. Then we went through the rallies, and I had to defend some break points.
“Kind of not lucky there, but I have to say I was very inspired with some variation. I was, like, Jesus, she got into the rhythm. I’ve got to try and change something.”
Thankfully for Mladenovic, her variations worked. Nothing, however, worked out for Strycova, who was stunned 6-3, 6-2 by Chinese wild-card Shuai Peng, leaving the fourth quarter of the draw without a seed.
In fact, with Garbine Muguruza retiring injured from her opening match on Tuesday and Yulia Putintseva losing to Catherine Bellis, only two of the eight seeds in the lower half have survived the first two rounds: No 10 Caroline Wozniacki, who defeated Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-2 to set up a clash with Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko, and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
The 2012 Dubai champion Radwanska got her campaign off to a sizzling start, brushing off Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with American teenager Bellis, who defeated German Laura Siegemund 7-5, 7-6.
In the top half of the draw, top seed Angelique Kerber opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 win over German compatriot Mona Barthel. She next meets Monica Puig in the third round in a repeat of the 2016 Rio Olympic final.
This will be their first meeting since the Puerto Rican Puig defeated the German 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 for the gold medal, but Kerber will said that result will have no bearing on this match.
“For sure, she’s a tough player and she’s playing really aggressive,” Kerber said. “I know that from the match in Rio. But for me it’s the same ... I go out there trying to play my game again, and I will not thinking too much about the match in Rio. She played unbelievable match and she won it.
“So tomorrow I will try to go out there and win the next one.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The%20Mother%20
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Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
Racecard
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
The National selections
6.30pm: Chaddad
7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou
7.40pm: Mass Media
8.15pm: Rafal
8.50pm: Yulong Warrior
9.25pm: Chiefdom
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.