Dubai: All five UAE-based players lost out in the qualifying rounds on the opening day of the 17th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge that got under way at the Habtoor Beach Resort and Spa on Saturday.
Irina Ramialison blanked Rai Sengupta 6-0, 6-0 to set the ball rolling after which Amandine Hesse of France secured a similar ‘bagel’ score against Dubai-based Nigerian Blessing Anuna.
Another three players based in the UAE fared marginally better as Sofia Sabljarevic went down 1-6, 0-6 against Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, while Claudia Coppola of Italy had very little difficulty in dismantling UAE-based Luciana Rabines’ game to win 6-3, 6-0. The rout was complete when American Madeleine Gauthier lost 0-6, 2-6 to Romania’s Cristina Adamescu.
In other matches, Oman’s Fatma Al Nabhani failed to cash in on a sound start when she went down in three sets 6-2, 4-6, 1-6 to Elena Bogdan of Romania.
The second round of qualifying matches will continue at the Habtoor Beach Resort and Spa tennis courts on Sunday and the four qualifiers will be known only after Monday morning’s final qualifying round.
