Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka win opening matches
World No 1 Iga Swiatek eases to a straight-sets win over Leylah Fernandez to open her Dubai campaign with the loss of just two games; Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka extends her winning streak to 12-0, but Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia suffer shock defeats
Wednesday 22 February 2023 09:58, UK
World No 1 Iga Swiatek continued her dominant form, while Aryna Sabalenka made it 12-0 for the year as they both recorded quick wins at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Swiatek, who successfully defended her title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Saturday, claimed her fourth straight match without losing more than three games as she crushed former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-1 6-1 in 72 minutes.
The Pole will take on Liudmila Samsonova next after the Russian received a walkover when her opponent Zheng Qinwen was forced to pull out of their contest due to abdominal pain.
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"It wasn't that easy for sure. It was much tougher than the score said," Swiatek said.
"In the second set, I needed to go a level up. I didn't have much time to get used to the conditions, but I'm just happy I could play solid tennis."
World No 2 Sabalenka, playing her first tournament since she won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last month, extended her winning streak to 12-0 for the year after a quick-fire 6-0 6-1 win over Lauren Davis.
"I want more. Motivation, this is the word. More motivation to work hard, just to feel it again," Sabalenka said.
"I think the only [reason] I won Australian Open is because I was focusing on myself.
"I didn't really think about all the expectations, all the things happening around, this is a Grand Slam, all this stuff. I was just telling myself that I have to bring my level on court, I have a lot of chances to win the match.
"So, yeah, I'll just try focus on myself."
Czech Karolina Pliskova upset world No 7 Maria Sakkari 6-1 6-2 in 69 minutes, while Madison Keys shocked fourth seed Caroline Garcia 7-5 6-4.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Jessica Pegula, Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko.
Swiss star Belinda Bencic beat Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in three hours and 27 minutes, meaning five of the longest WTA main-draw matches of the year have taken place in the last three days.
