Former runner-up Daria Snigur caused the biggest upset on the opening day by knocking off third seed Xinyu Wang 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-1, to be joined by three more seeded players in the next round of the 24th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge.
Snigur, who lost to Romania’s Ana Bogdan here in the 2019 singles final, took her time before easing her way past her Chinese opponent in three sets in 107 minutes on court.
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“I was nervous out there. In the second set I didn’t know what was happening as it was hot and I was feeling very tired trying to hang in there,” Snigur said after her match. “At the same time, I wanted to play some good tennis and attack every ball as I knew I was up against one of the best players. In the end the key was to concentrate all the time.”
Now past the first hurdle, the 19-year-old from Ukraine hoped she can bring out her best game during this week. “Dubai is one of my best destinations on the circuit. I love this place and the atmosphere, and it would mean so much if I can continue winning. But then, it’s one day at a time,” she said.
Also advancing to the second round was eighth seed Polona Hercog with a lopsided 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 win against wild card Sandra Samir in two hours and 19 minutes.
“The first step for me was to get used to the conditions. There was a lot of breeze and the ball was flying around. I knew I had to just win the points while hanging in there, and the key of course was to serve well,” Hercog said. “I also knew that I had to be patient with my game, give myself a few games and get my rhythm. And in case things weren’t exactly going my way then I had to implement Plan B or Plan C as the case may be.
“Winning the opening round is always a bonus and I hope to carry forward this form into the next few days here. I made the semi-finals last year and it will be good to take a step further this time.”
Seventh seed Lesia Tsurenko also progressed with a swift 6-3, 7-5 win over Lina Glushko of Israel, while sixth seed Viktoriya Tomova needed three sets before winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove from the Netherlands.
Round 1 results
Polona Hercog bt Sandra Samir 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Daria Snigur bt Xinyu Wang 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-1
Anastasia Gasanova bt Anna Danilina 6-1, 6-4
Lesia Tsurenko bt Lina Glushko 6-3, 7-5
Viktoria Kuzmova bt Mai Hontama 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
Viktoriya Tomova bt Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
