(February 17, 2016) Ana Ivanovic defeated top seed and defending champion Simona Halep 7-6 (2), 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday.
Second seed Garbine Muguruza also was upset 7-6(3), 6-3 by Elina Svitolina, who has former No. 1 and four-time Dubai champion Justine Henin as part of her coaching team. Caroline Garcia defeated third seed Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and fourth seed and former Dubai champion Petra Kvitova was beaten 0-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 by Madison Brengle.
“I think it was one of the highest quality matches I have had in maybe the last year,” said Ivanovic. “I was very happy to get through, especially that I was down in that first set. I started a little bit anxious. I was rushing too much.
“But I was really happy I managed to calm down and sort of raise my level and win. I was really impressed with my movement. I lost a lot of close matches in the past, so it was nice to get this one done. I knew I had it in me, so I really believed throughout.”
Halep has suffered from injuries this year. “Yeah, was close,” said Halep. “First set I had set ball. I couldn’t finish, and then I lost a little bit of confidence and it was over. I think I was doing okay. I was aggressive. She played really well. She came back well. I served okay, returned okay.
“I’m disappointed that I lost but it’s okay. I feel good. Physically I’m okay. I have no pain anywhere. It’s good, and the most important thing is that I’m healthy.”
“I’m not really finding my game, so I think I have to rest a little bit and concentrate again and work hard and eventually come back to the tournament to play again,” said Muguruza. “I think I’m not really ready to compete. I need to work a little bit more. My shots, my fitness. So we’ll see. I think I just need to start from zero again and kind of forget these couple of tournaments, I guess.”
DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS – DUBAI, UAE
$ 2,000,000
15-20 FEBRUARY 2016
RESULTS – FEBRUARY 17, 2016
Women’s Singles – Second Round
A. Ivanovic (SRB) d [1] [WC] S. Halep (ROU) 76(2) 62
E. Svitolina (UKR) d [2] G. Muguruza (ESP) 76(3) 63
C. Garcia (FRA) d [3] C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) 46 64 63
M. Brengle (USA) d [4] [WC] P. Kvitova (CZE) 06 76(1) 63
B. Strycova (CZE) d J. Goerges (GER) 26 63 61
A. Petkovic (GER) d J. Jankovic (SRB) 63 62
S. Errani (ITA) d [Q] Y. Shvedova (KAZ) 63 60
C. Vandeweghe (USA) d K. Mladenovic (FRA) 75 36 64
Women’s Doubles – Quarterfinals
C. Chuang (TPE) / D. Jurak (CRO) d A. Klepac (SLO) / K. Srebotnik (SLO) 61 46 12-10
First Round
[4] T. Babos (HUN) / J. Goerges (GER) d B. Strycova (CZE) / R. Vinci (ITA) 63 36 11-9
ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016
CENTRE COURT start 2:00 pm
C. Garcia (FRA) vs A. Petkovic (GER)
S. Errani (ITA) vs M. Brengle (USA)
Not Before 7:00 pm
C. Vandeweghe (USA) vs E. Svitolina (UKR)
A. Ivanovic (SRB) vs B. Strycova (CZE)
COURT 1 start 3:00 pm
[PR] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / M. Martínez Sánchez (ESP) vs [4] T. Babos (HUN) / J. Goerges (GER)
after suitable rest – S. Errani (ITA) / C. Suárez Navarro (ESP) vs Y. Xu (CHN) / S. Zheng (CHN)
after suitable rest – A. Groenefeld (GER) / C. Vandeweghe (USA) vs [2] C. Garcia (FRA) / K. Mladenovic (FRA)