Dubai: A handful of former Grand Slam champions kept themselves in the fray while the top two seeds got swept away at the end of the second round of qualifying at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open on Sunday.
Top seed Julia Goerges caved in to a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 defeat to Romanian Sorana Cirstea after battling over three sets but while second seed Shuai Zhang of China also dug in deep before falling 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 against a second Romanian, Ana Bogdan.
Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova, who had sent third seed Saisai Zheng packing off on the first day, remained within a match of entering the main draw with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Italian Giulia Gatto-Monticone. The rest of the seeds survived with No.4 and four-time Grand Slam doubles champion Kristina Mladenovic winning 6-3, 6-3 against Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, while No.5 Veronika Kudermetova took nearly two and a half hours to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 against Czech Tereza Martincova.
Another doubles Grand Slam champion easing through was sixth seed Su Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei with a 7-6, 6-2 result against Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, while No.7 Polona Hercog and No.8 Alison Van Uytvanck also sailed through beating China’s Xinyun Han 6-2, 6-4 and Kristina Kucova, respectively.
The final day of qualifiers will be played on Monday before the start of the main draw with Amanda Anisimova facing Barbora Strycova at 2 pm on centre court.
RESULTS
Day Two: Ana Bogdan bt Shuai Zhang 3-6, 6-4, 7-6; Aliaksandra Sasnovich bt Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-2; Sorana Cirstea bt Julia Goerges 5-7, 6-4, 7-6; Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3; Kristina Mladenovic bt Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-3; Polona Hercog bt Xinyun Han 6-2, 6-4; Bethanie Mattek-Sands bt Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-1; Veronika Kudermetova bt Tereza Martincova 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; Katerina Siniakova bt Giulia Gatto-Monticone 6-1, 6-4; Carla Suarez Navarro bt Anna Danilina 6-3, 6-1; Su-Wei Hsieh bt Liudmila Samsonova 7-6, 6-2; Alison Van Uytvanck bt Kristina Kucova 6-4, 7-6.
