Dubai Tennis Championships 2019: early winners and losers

Action at the 2019 Dubai Tennis Championships is underway. Here is a look at some of the early round winners and losers.

Elina Svitolina is the back to back champion in women’s singles at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She is the tournament’s sixth seed this year and takes on Ons Jabeur first this week. While the defending champ gears up for her first match, here is a look at some of the early winners and losers so far.

Last week, Elise Mertens made headlines by defeating former world number one Simona Halep at the Qatar Total Open. The title is easily her biggest to date. Mertens, however, sees a different fate in Dubai this week. She falls to Zhu Lin of China who takes on Lesia Tsurenko next in the round of 32. Mertens was the 16th seed in Dubai.

Latvian tennis player Jelena Ostapenko continues to struggle on the WTA Tour. Ostapenko drops her opening match to American Jennifer Brady. Ostapenko is the 2017 French Open champion but has failed to find consistency in recent months.

Allison Riske upsets the 13th seeded Julia Goerges in straight sets with Riske winning 6-4, 7-5. Young American tennis star Sofia Kenin continues to show promise as she wins her opener with ease. Kenin defeats Romanian veteran Mihaela Buzărnescu.

One match that we would have really enjoyed seeing was Caroline Wozniacki taking on Stefanie Voegele. Wozniacki is a former champion at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She withdraws, however, from a second consecutive tournament due to viral illness. Her opponent met Polona Hercog of Slovenia and moves on to face Belinda Bencic.

Other winners include Garbine Muguruza, Eugenie Bouchard, Daria Kasatkina, Alize Cornet, and Kristina Mladenovic. Bouchard faces a tough matchup with the third seeded Halep next in the round of 32. Mladenovic also lines up a difficult meeting with the top seeded Naomi Osaka. Both players will need to complete major upsets if they hope to advance.

Some other players to watch include Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, and Kiki Bertens. The Dubai Tennis Championships is a chance for both the best in women’s singles tennis to solidify their place atop the rankings and for others to play spoiler. Check back to see how the rest of the early action unfolds and who will advance deeper for a shot at the title.