Dubai: It was a night of the babe as American teen Catherine Bellis became the youngest player in the main draw with a gutsy 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over former champion and world number six Agnieszka Radwanska at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open late yesterday.
Bellis made it a debut worth remembering as she stayed focused and nonplussed to over-power an opponent ten years her senior and with earnings in excess of $26 million (Dh95.45 million) – compared to the less than $400,000 she has earned so far on the WTA Tour.
The American, who turns 18 in April, took 111 minutes to size up her opponent and line up a dream quarter-final against either Kateryna Bondarenko or Caroline Wozniacki, who were playing later in the night.
“The gameplan was always to stay focused on my game,” Bellis beamed.
The teen, also known as CiCi, turned down a scholarship to the prestigious Stanford University for a full-time career in tennis. And once again she did not regret her choice. “These are the moments I would most enjoy,” she said.
“Playing and winning before an appreciative crowd in such a major tournament is what an athlete wants most,” she added.
Earlier, Angelique Kerber maintained her path towards reclaiming her World No 1 position with a 6-2, 6-3 revenge win against Puerto Rica’s Monica Puig even as Elena Vesnina became the latest seeded casualty at the end of early play at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open yesterday.
Clinical Kerber
Kerber, who can be the World No 1 next Monday if she reaches the final here on Saturday, was clinical in her 6-2, 6-3 demolition of Puig to avenge her loss in the Gold Medal match of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games last summer.
The notable performance of the day was Qiang Wang easing into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Kristina Mladenovic to become only the second Chinese player to make it to the last eight stages after Li Na’s entry into the quarters at the 2010 edition.
Eighth-seeded Vesnina crumbled in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) against Croatian Ana Konjuh, after American Lauren Davis had assured herself a spot in the last eight with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over a higher-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.
The first three days of the competition witnessed the departure of Barbora Strycova (No. 9), second seed Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova (No. 3), and No. 5 Garbine Muguruza. They had been preceded by No.11 CoCo Vandeweghe, No.13 Kiki Bertens, No. 14 Anastasia Pavyluchenkova, No. 15 Caroline Garcia, No. 16 Roberta Vinci and No. 17 Yulia Putintseva on the first two days.
Making her Dubai debut, Davis was joined later in the quarter-finals by seventh seed Svitolina, with the Ukrainian – who left hastily complaining of pain in her toes – fighting her way to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over a fast-improving Christina McHale.
“I’m really pleased with the way I have been playing, enjoying myself and sticking to my game plan. I am just really having fun,” Davis said as she readied to take on Svitolina in today’s quarters. “I guess this is part of me being lucky on debut here. I’m really happy to be here. It’s an incredible tournament and I’m happy that I’m playing well here,” she added.
Early cushion
Going into their third encounter on tour, Makarova had won both their earlier matches dropping just nine games in total. But Davis ensured no repeat as she broke early for an early 3-0 cushion. Makarova broke back in the fifth and then held for 3-3. The Russian — a quarter-finalist here in 2015 — then sustained the pressure to record a second break and serve out the set 6-4 in 40 minutes.
Davis, though, had other plans as she broke in the fourth and sixth for a healthy 5-1 lead to serve out the set 6-1 in a mere 27 minutes.
The American was the first to move ahead in the deciding third with a break in the fifth, only to see her Russian opponent break back for 3-3. Davis broke a second time for 4-3 and then served out a game on love to go 5-3 clear to finish off with a third break and complete the upset.
Konjuh was left with the prospect of a dream meeting against top seed Kerber after the German top seed disposed of gold medallist Puig.
Meanwhile, Mladenovic — who had packed off second seed and Qatar Open champion Pliskova a day earlier — was slow off the blocks and was quickly 0-4 in arrears against Qiang Wang.
In the second set, the Chinese broke in the eighth and then in the tenth to wrap up set and match in a tight second set that lasted 61 minutes to set a meeting against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova.
RESULTS
(Singles) Lauren Davis bt Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; Ana Konjuh bt Elena Vesnina 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4); Qiang Wang bt Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-4; Elina Svitolina bt Christina McHale 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Lauren Davis bt Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3; Anastasija Sevastova bt Shuai Peng 6-4, 6-3; Angelique Kerber bt Monica Puig 6-2, 6-3; Catherine Bellis bt Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
