Top seed Aryna Sabalenka is out and No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek is moving on to the quarterfinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Clara Tauson of Denmark capitalized on Sabalenka’s service inconsistency to knock out the World No. 1, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.
In uncharacteristic fashion, Sabalenka, of Belarus, faced 16 break points, fending off 10. But she lost the final three games on her serve in the first set — and the first two of the second set — and couldn’t dig out of the hole.
In all, Sabalenka won just 48 percent (19 of 40) of points on her first serve, compared to 79 percent (19 of 24) for Tauson.
Swiatek, of Poland, went toe to toe with Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine before dominating the second set to win 7-5, 6-0 in 92 minutes.
After Yastremska rallied from 5-3 down in the first set, Swiatek was up 6-5 and didn’t allow the Ukrainian to register a point on her serve, with Swiatek breaking Yastremska to win the first set. Swiatek then breezed through the second set in 33 minutes, surrendering just eight points.
Yastremska came out aggressive in the match, tallying 16 winners to two for Swiatek in the first set, but couldn’t maintain the intensity. She wound up with 47 unforced errors in the WTA 1000 event.
“I knew I had many opportunities to break Dayana on her serve, so I just wanted to be consistent with my service games and I knew the chances are going to come,” Swiatek said on the court after the match. “We have many girls on tour right now who are heavy hitters and they risk it. If it’s in, it’s impossible to get it. If it’s out, you grab these points and be grateful for them. It’s not easy; you have to have a lot of patience and acceptance.”
Next up for Swiatek is No. 12 seed Mirra Andreeva, who defeated Peyton Stearns 6-1, 6-1 in 73 minutes. Andreeva, a 17-year-old Russian, is moving on to her fifth quarterfinal at the WTA 1000 level or above.
In the quarterfinal round, Tauson will meet Czech Linda Noskova, who upset No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (8).
Also out is No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy, who lost to Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-0. The defending champion, Paolini battled through an ankle injury.
Former Australian Open champ Kenin will be playing in her first WTA quarterfinal since 2023, Her opponent will be No. 6 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who saved six match points in a 4-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2) win over No. 10 Paula Badosa of Spain in two hours, 49 minutes.
Also advancing was Czech Karolina Muchova, seeded No. 14, who topped McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Kessler had defeated No. 3 Coco Gauff in the second round.
–Field Level Media
