Top-seeded Elina Svitolina on Tuesday suffered a “disappointing” 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Svetlana Kuznetsova in her Dubai opener as US teen sensation Coco Gauff fought “fire with fire” to come through a tension-fueled second round against Marketa Vondrousova.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova was forced to retire through injury in her evening clash with Jil Teichmann.
Kuznetsova, ranked No. 41, rallied back from a set and an early break down to knock out the two-time champion and record her 21st win in Dubai — the highest tally among active WTA players.
Photo: AFP
The 35-year-old Russian is a three-time runner-up in the United Arab Emirates showpiece and next has a last-16 showdown with Barbora Krejcikova.
“Obviously, the loss is very tough, because I think I started the match quite good and I was feeling good going into the tournament and I really love to play here in Dubai. The result is really disappointing,” fifth-ranked Svitolina said.
Contesting a seventh consecutive three-set match, Gauff needed two hours to dismiss the Czech 12th seed 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 and set up a third-round meeting with qualifier Tereza Martincova.
The contest took on an edge when 16-year-old Gauff complained to the umpire about how Vondrousova was catching her ball toss with her racket instead of letting it bounce or capturing it with her hand, which she believed to be against the rules.
The incident sparked some tension — there was no apology from Gauff when she aimed a drive volley directly at Vondrousova’s body and the Czech also forewent the courtesy apology when she claimed a point via a lucky net cord.
“My personality, I fight fire with fire,” Gauff said. “I lost those two points that game, and she had wild screams, and I like to scream, so I screamed back.”
Gauff, who is ranked 38, turns 17 on Saturday, the day of the Dubai final, and wants to celebrate in style.
“That’s definitely a big motivation,” she said.
In an all-lefty night-session affair, Swiss debutante Teichmann secured passage to the third round when Kvitova had to withdraw midway through the second set.
A champion in Doha three days previously, Kvitova dropped the opening set 6-2 after receiving treatment for a right-inner-thigh injury. The 2013 Dubai winner led Teichmann 4-1 in the second set, but Kvitova lost her break advantage and had to end the match two games later.
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