The first Premier 5 tournament of 2019 has finally arrived upon us as the #DubaiDutyFreeTennisChampionships is set to take over the world of tennis this week. The world’s best players are back in action, with 15 of the top-20 players set to participate in Dubai in this packed field.
First Quarter: Osaka makes her return, defending champion Svitolina receives tricky path
World number one #NaomiOsaka is finally back in action for the first time after lifting the Australian Open trophy. The Japanese received a favourable draw, with her first opponent being either the struggling #KristinaMladenovic or wildcard #FatmaAlNabhani after receiving a bye into the second round. Osaka beat the Frenchwoman in the first round in this tournament one year ago.
There will be several intriguing first-round clashes, with veterans #BarboraStrycova and #CarlaSuarezNavarro set to go head-to-head in the first round. Strycova is a former finalist here in Dubai, falling to Sara Errani in the 2016 final. Suarez Navarro owns a commanding 8-1 lead in their head-to-head record with all their matches decided in straight sets. The winner of this match will face the winner of the encounter between the dangerous #ZhangShuai and 15th seed #AnettKontaveit.
Will it be third-time lucky for #DayanaYastremska? The Ukrainian youngster clashes against former world number one #GarbineMuguruza for the third time in five months having prevailed in their last clashes without losing a set. It could well be yet another early exit for the Spaniard which will pile onto her list of poor results this year.
There could be a potential rematch of the Thailand Open final between Yastremska and #AjlaTomljanovic, provided the Australian can get past her first-round opponent, #ZhengSaisai. Sixth seed and two-time defending champion #ElinaSvitolina, having received a bye, will face a hard-hitting player in either #OnsJabeur or #DonnaVekic in a tricky draw.
Prediction: Svitolina d. Osaka
Second Quarter: In-form Halep returns to Dubai, Sabalenka makes main draw debut
World number two #SimonaHalep will face either rising star #VeraLapko or former world number five #EugenieBouchard in her first match in Dubai. Halep is fresh, though looked visibly exhausted, off a run to the final at the Qatar Total Open where she led by a set and a break before being conquered in three sets. Halep has shown glimpses of her peak and is tipped to mount a deep run this week once again.
#EliseMertens, who was Halep’s conquerer in Qatar, has the golden opportunity to pull off the huge upset for the second time in as many weeks. She has a relatively clear path into the third round where the potential rematch of their thrilling encounter could occur once more.
Ninth seed #CarolineWozniacki has had a horrid 2019 thus far. A second-round exit in Auckland was followed by an upset in the third round of the Australian Open where she was the defending champion, before being forced to withdraw from Qatar due to a viral illness which was rumoured to have spread around the grounds. She seems to be healthy and is determined to return in Dubai, where she faces fellow Grand Slam champion #SamanthaStosur, who has received a wildcard into the main draw.
Former top-10 player #BelindaBencic will open her Dubai campaign against qualifier #LucieHradecka. It has been an incredible journey back to the top of tennis from injuries for both Bencic and Hradecka. Despite the Czech being an alternate in the qualifying draw after Babos was promoted into the main draw, she put up some impressive performances and retrieved from a 2-6, 1-3 deficit to triumph on Saturday.
It was initially an all-Italian clash between #SaraErrani and Camila Giorgi before the latter withdrew and allowed #IvanaJorovic, a qualifier, to take her place. Errani, the 2016 champion, returns to the sport after a three-month ban due to a violation of the anti-doping rules and this is her first WTA tournament in her comeback.
She reached the second round last year, and this time her second-round opponent would be eighth seed #ArynaSabalenka, someone whom she defeated in the final qualifying rounds last year. This is Sabalenka’s first main draw appearance in Dubai and she will be defending minimal points this year, hence this is a good chance to consolidate her spot in the top-10.
Prediction: Halep d. Sabalenka
Third Quarter: Pliskova, Kerber leads the way
#AngeliqueKerber, after a rough start to 2019, has been handed a lifeline as she will face either qualifier #ZarinaDiyas or lucky-loser #DalilaJakupovic in her first match. She reached the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open last week, and it was her best result of the year thus far. The German will be looking to pounce on her chance for a deep run in Dubai, where she had not reached the final throughout her career.
#EkaterinaMakarova, who has rarely been in action recently, faces #AliaksandraSasnovich in an interesting opening-round encounter with the Belarusian being a Fed Cup hero just a week ago. She suffered a humiliating 0-6, 2-6 defeat to Hsieh Su-wei in Qatar, but that could be attributed to fatigue and lack of practice time. 10th seed #AnastasijaSevastova and #HsiehSuwei will face off in the opening round for the first time in their careers. Both are crafty players with a varied playing style, and this could be an underrated thriller as the Latvian could be prone to the upset.
There will be a repeat of their Qatar marathon match as #AlisonRiske was drawn to face 13th seed #JuliaGoerges in the first round once again. The American brought the higher-ranked German into a deciding set and kept the scores extremely tight, although the eventual quarterfinalist was ultimately able to seal the win in three sets. #AlizeCornet faces the out-of-form #TimeaBabos and #DominikaCibulkova returns into action after a lengthy rest as well. Fourth seed #KarolinaPliskova, the 2015 finalist, receives a bye into the second round and would most likely face the Slovakian in her first match. It would be a difficult start, but the Czech looks dialled in and she is the favourite to triumph.
Prediction: Kerber d. Pliskova
Fourth Quarter: Kvitova returns, Bertens look to continue good form
Seventh seed #KikiBertens has been on a roll recently — hoisting the title at the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy and backing it up with a quarterfinal result in Qatar. The Dutchwoman has nothing to defend in Dubai hence a top-five debut seems highly plausible with a deep run here, especially with her favourable draw. She was drawn to face either #ViktoriaKuzmova or qualifier #BernardaPera in her first match.
#MihaelaBuzarnescu has been on a nine-match losing streak ever since her freak ankle injury in Cincinnati last year as she has never looked like the same player since. She faces one of the biggest prospects, #SofiaKenin, in the opening hurdle and it seems as though another early exit would ensue as the American has had a decent 2019 thus far.
11th seed #DariaKasatkina has struggled through 2019, amassing a 1-4 win-loss record with her sole win coming against a player ranked outside the world’s top-500 during Fed Cup play. This time, she was handed a golden opportunity to claim her maiden WTA win of the year as she was handed #MagdalenaFrech as her first opponent of the tournament, a very winnable match. However, doom could spell as Kenin could be her second-round opponent.
In one of the most highly-anticipated first-round clashes of the tournament, 14th seed #CarolineGarcia goes up against the in-form #AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova. Garcia was in extremely poor form before finding her groove during Fed Cup, while the Russian has been performing well this year with quarterfinal runs in Melbourne and St. Petersburg. The winner of this encounter could face 2017 Roland Garros champion #JelenaOstapenko in the following match.
#KaterinaSiniakova and #PetraMartic face off in the opening round, with the winner earning the chance to play second seed and Australian Open finalist #PetraKvitova next. So, who would Kvitova face? Would it be her compatriot Siniakova, or a fellow Petra? It is a tough draw for the two-time Wimbledon champion but if she were to play anything like how she performed in Australia, another deep run would ensue.
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