Ons Jabeur is through to the last 16 of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open after beating Jelena Ostapenko in the UAE capital.
Jabeur won in straight sets to set up a match against Japan’s rising star, 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe, in the last 16 on Wednesday.
The Tunisian edged the first set via a tie-break before taking the second 7-5 to set up a last-16 clash with 17-year-old Wakana Sonobe on Wednesday.
In a meeting of Grand Slam champions, Emma Raducanu faced Marketa Vondrousova in the day's other tie. Having forced an early break of serve to go 3-1 up, the 22-year-old appeared to be in the ascendancy however a double fault in the following game, set the tone for what followed as she struggled to recover, with Vondrousova winning five consecutive games to take the first set.
While Raducanu, at times, produced moments of brilliance, she was being hampered by a series of unforced errors. Both players had their moments in the second set, but it was Vondrousova, 2023 Wimbledon champion, who displayed greater consistency in her game.
At 5-3, Raducanu showed fantastic spirit by breaking her opponent, who was serving for the match, but it was indicative of her overall performance that in the following game, the Brit was on the opposite end of a break, meaning it’s Vondrousova who progresses to the last 16, and a meeting with Yulia Putintseva, courtesy of a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Belinda Bencic, winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, made a triumphant return to Zayed Sports City as she overcame the challenge of Rebecca Sramkova in three sets.
Making her first appearance at the stadium since winning the competition, Bencic started the match in confident fashion, dropping just two games as she took the first set comfortably.
Her early dominance was temporarily halted, however, as Sramkova produced a brilliant response to win the second and level the match up. With parity restored, those watching on inside Stadium Court would have expected a tight decisive set, but Bencic had other ideas, with the 2020 Olympic gold medallist totally overwhelming her opponent, running out 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 winner, setting up a last-16 meeting tomorrow against Veronika Kudermetova.
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, runner-up at the 2021 US Open, edged a tight and entertaining encounter against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima on Stadium Court early in the day.
After the first set had swayed back and forth, it was ultimately settled via a tie-break in the favour of Fernandez.
It was a high-tempo contest with both players producing some fantastic shots and intense rallies, and the second set followed a similar pattern to the first. Once again, a tie-break was required, but sensing victory was in her grasp, Fernandez seized control, winning all seven points without reply to claim a 7-6, 7-6 victory.
Fernandez now faces Lulu Sun, conqueror of Caroline Garcia, in the next round.
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