The last two winners of Wimbledon both came through stern tests on Wednesday to move into the quarter-finals of the WTA event in Dubai.
Reigning All England Club champion Marketa Vondrousova and 2022 titleholder Elena Rybakina reached the last eight after coming through battles at the Aviation Club.
Vondrousova, seeded seventh, easily dispatched Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-2; but it was much tougher for Rybakina, who needed almost three hours to overcome Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4.
The third-round showdown puts fourth seed Rubakina into a last-eight match against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who defeated eighth seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2.
“It was important to win the first set, it was quite a tough one,” the Kazakh with 17 victories and two titles in 2024 said.
“I’m happy that I’m still winning the matches, but I can see that my level physically is dropping a bit. I don’t know how much I can push and how much I can recover.
“But it’s a good problem to have. No one expected me to play so many
matches in the past two weeks (Abu Dhabi title and Doha final against Iga Swiatek).
“Whatever happens this week, I know that there are other tournaments in front. I’m not a machine that can work every day the same.
“For now I’m focusing match by match and it’s getting tougher, tougher every day.”
Main photo:- Marketa Vondrousova with 2023 Ladies Singles Title at Wimbledon by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
