British tennis star Emma Raducanu made an impressive start to her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut, defeating former World No.3 Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 under the lights on Centre Court. The 2021 US Open champion, who is a high-profile wildcard at the event, triumphed in her first match in Dubai, marking a perfect beginning to her campaign.
Raducanu, currently ranked outside the top 100, was up against a strong challenge from Sakkari, ranked 29th in the world. However, Raducanu set the tone early, breaking Sakkari’s serve at the first opportunity. Sakkari fought back to level the first set at 3-3, but Raducanu quickly regained control, breaking back without dropping a point.
“I just tried to stay focused on what was in front of me,” Raducanu said after the match. “There was some momentum shared throughout the match and I think when I was broken in the first set, I regrouped really well to break back and was really pleased with how I performed.”
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Raducanu breaking Sakkari early, only to lose her advantage once more. However, the British No.2 kept her composure, broke again, and capitalized on Sakkari’s errors to seal the match with a powerful ace, much to the delight of the crowd.
“I’m very happy to get through to the next round,” Raducanu said. “The support has been great tonight. It’s my first time spending a little bit of time here [in Dubai] and I’ve really enjoyed it. What I love most is that everything is open late and I’m a big night owl, so I can go out and go for my walks at, like, 11pm.”
Raducanu now looks ahead to a second-round clash with 14th seed Karolina Muchova, who defeated Suzan Lamens 6-2, 6-2 earlier in the evening.
The evening also saw two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina breezing past last year’s surprise finalist Anna Kalinskaya, winning 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. Svitolina, making her 10th appearance in Dubai, will face either Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova or Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the second round.
Meanwhile, Marketa Vondrousova, Belinda Bencic, and Sofia Kenin all advanced to the second round in impressive fashion. Vondrousova defeated Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-2, Bencic eased past Aoi Ito 6-0, 6-2, and Kenin triumphed 7-5, 6-3 over Donna Vekic.
The 25th edition of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runs until February 22, followed by the ATP Tour 500 tournament from February 24 to March 1. Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster and at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office.
