Dubai: American teenager Catherine ‘CiCi’ Bellis vindicated her wildcard selection with a smooth 6-3, 6-3 win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens on Tuesday to set up a meeting with Qatar Open runner-up and second seed Garbine Muguruza at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open.
Ranked No. 41, Bellis showed maturity far beyond her years as she eased past her 22-year-old opponent. It was Mertens who started off with an early break, but a crucial double fault from the Belgian allowed Bellis to draw level at 1-1. Mertens looked subdued and lost as the American teen broke a second time and then held for a 4-1 lead to eventually serve out the set 6-3 in exactly half an hour.
Mertens discovered her range despite being down by a break in the second. After both had exchanged breaks it was Mertens leading for the first time 3-2. But that was all the 21-ranked girl from Belgium could manage as Bellis took the next four games to win in an hour and 13 minutes and then set her sights for her meeting with second seed Muguruza.
“I’ve never played her before. It’s definitely going to be a new experience for me. It will be fun. She’s an unbelievable player. She’s been at the top of the game for a while now and it will be great for me just to see where my game lines up against another one of the top players. The idea will be to just try and enjoy it,” Bellis said.
In the second afternoon match, Anett Kontaveit — one of three debutantes this year — dug in deep before packing off former US Open champion Samantha Stosur 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Coming through three rounds of qualifying, Stosur got the break she was waiting for in the fourth and then held to go 4-1 up to easily win the opening set 6-1 in just 23 minutes.
The second set witnessed a complete turnaround as Kontaveit found her rhythm with a break in the fourth for 3-1. The Estonian didn’t stop there as she broke two more times in the sixth and eighth games to win the set 6-2. In the deciding third, Kontaveit was cruising 3-0 when the 33-year-old Australian pulled her way back with a break of her own. But the Estonian proved to be crafty of the two as Stosur sent a forehand long to be broken again to lose set and match 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes.
“It’s a good feeling to start off on a winning note on debut,” Kontaveit said after her win that sets her up against wildcard from Japan Naomi Osaka on Wednesday.
“The idea of entering a tournament is always to see how far I can make it,” she added.
Another teenager Sofya Zhuk of Russia had a forgettable debut as she wilted against Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2. Navarro will now meet third seed Karolina Pliskova in Wednesday’s opening match on centre court.
