Iga Swiatek defeated Russian tennis player Liudmila Samsonova by 2-0 (6:1, 6:0) in just 76 minutes at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. In a way, it was a big surprise because in the last meeting between the two, the Polish tennis player prevailed against Liudmila Samsonova in an epic three-set match in the semifinals in Stuttgart.
In the next round Iga Swiatek will face Karolína Pliskova (Czech Republic)
Meanwhile, American Madison Keys needed just 57 minutes to prevail over Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) by 2-0 (6:2, 6:1). In the quarter-finals, she will face her compatriot Cori Coco Gauff, who advances after the withdrawal of Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) due to a back injury.
Jessica Pegula (USA) won a clear success over the Romanian Ana Bogdan with 2-0 (6:4, 6:3).
The 2019 winner at the tournament, Belinda Bencic (Switzerland), lost to the Czech Karolína Muchova by 0-2 (1:6, 4:6).
Melbourne champion Aryna Sabalenka won against the reigning champion Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia), last year’s winner, 2-1 (2:6, 6:1, 6:1).
In the last match of the day, Barbora Krejcikova prevailed in the Czech clash over Petra Kvitova by 2-0 (6:3, 6:2). She will face Aryna Sabalenka in a clash for a place in the semi-finals.
