Dubai: Four-time doubles Grand Slam champion Timea Babos became the latest causality in the 26th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge on Tuesday.
The second day witnessed some engrossing action at the Habtoor Grand Resort that saw the 30-year-old Hungarian going down 4-6, 4-6 to Ksenia Zaytseva, while Heather Watson and Kristina Mladenovic successfully staved off their rivals to book a place in the next round.
Watson got a good measure of an experienced former world No 2, Vera Zvonareva before winning 6-2, 7-6 (4), while Mladenovic battled for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 win over Romanian Cristina Dinu that lasted nearly three hours.
Tough encounter
Watson’s reward will be a second tough encounter in as many days, this time against Mladenovic, who landed late on Monday following her runners-up finish against Arina Rodionova at the W60 Trnava tournament in Slovakia on Sunday.
“My first reaction is that I am happy to get past the first round,” Watson said. “This was an incredibly high-quality match and to match her [Zvonareva] is such a unique experience. She plays at such a top level all the time, and I am happy with the way I was able to get past her,” the 31-year-old added.
Her next opponent is multiple Grand Slam winner Mladenovic. “The priority now is to get the body back into shape and then watch the match [Mladenovic v Dinu] before I head back to the room and get some rest before my next match.”
Good gameplan in place
Watson, who enjoyed a terrific stint in her junior career while winning the gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games before clinching the US Open crown in 2009, was hopeful of a strong showing this week. “I need to have a good gameplan in place for tomorrow,” Watson said.
“Dubai is certainly one of my most favourite places, and to be here for the entire week would be one of the goals,” she added.
Making the switch from indoors to outdoors, Mladenovic was pleased with the way she played against a gutsy Dinu. “I am more than happy with this first win, and now to have a second match against Heather [Watson] is going to be like a huge matchup,” she said.
“I simply decided to dig in deep mentally against Dinu. This was some battle today, and I just said that I am not going to give up till the very end,” she added. Meanwhile, fourth seed Arina Rodionova also fell in three sets following a marathon first-round match against Anastasia Tikhonova. The Australian has been in awesome form while clinching her seventh ITF World Tennis Tour title last Sunday.
The 33-year-old Australian took her second crown in as many weeks with a tough 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-1 win against Mladenovic at the W60 Tranava, on Sunday. This was Rodionova’s second consecutive tournament win, following her triumph on Portuguese soil at W25 Lousada the previous week.
Difficult season for Raina
India’s Ankita Raina’s presence in the singles was cut short by Great Britain’s Emily Appleton with a 6-2, 6-2 win earlier in the morning. “I am happy doing the things I am meant to be doing,” Appleton said.
“I was aware that she [Ankita] is a higher ranked player, and the idea was to just focus on my game. I doubt I need to do anything different now on. I am winning at the moment, so why change this formula?” she queried.
Though disappointed with the result, Raina is aiming to get her Australian Open dreams back on track. “The idea now would be to get back home [Pune, India] and see how best I can make the cut at the Australian Open. I need a few days off just to refocus as this has not exactly been an easy season,” she said.
Results (Day Two):
Singles: Ksenia Zaytseva bt Timea Babos 6-4, 6-4; Emily Aoppleton bt Ankita Raina 6-2, 6-2; Anastasia Tikhonova bt Arina Rodionova 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4); Peangtarn Plipuech bt Ekaterina Yashina 6-3, 6-2; Maria Tomofeeva bt Kateryna Volodko 5-4 (retd.); Tena Lukas bt Leonie Kung 7-5, 7-5; Isabella Shinikova bt Lola Radivojevic 6-1, 6-2; Heather Watson bt Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 7-6 (4); Kristina Mladenovic bt Cristina Dinu 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles: Stefania Bojica/Ekaterina Yashina bt Eva Busaad/Jigyasa Narsinghani 6-0, 6-1; Prarthana G Thombare/Anastasia Tikhonova bt Alevtina Ibragimova/Anastasia Kovaleva 3-6, 6-1, 11-9; Emily Appleton/Alicia Barnett bt Diletta Cherubini/Dimitra Pavlou 4-6, 7-6 (4), 10-8; Luksika Kumkhum/Peangtarn Plipuech bt Ekaterina Makarova/Maria Timofeeva 7-6 (1), 6-7 (4), 11-9.
