Dubai Duty Free Tennis: Ons Jabeur, Sam Stosur advance to second round of qualifying

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  • Ons Jabeur was happy to finally get the monkey off her back and claim her first victory of the 2018 season by defeating Fatma Al Nabhani to reach the second round of qualifying at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday.

    Jabeur fought past her Omani opponent 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2 in an all-Arab clash that lasted one hour and 56 minutes in hot conditions at the Aviation Club to set up a qualifying second round against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

    The Tunisian, who made her top-100 debut last year thanks to a career-best season that saw her become the first Arab woman to make the third round at a Grand Slam in singles, was riding a seven match-losing streak before her win over Al Nabhani.

    “There are two sides to the story. The draws were tough, from the start of the season I was facing seeded players – except for Sydney (lost to Sara Tomic in qualifying) which is a match I’d like to forget, we don’t have to talk about it – and it’s been difficult. My confidence was a bit shaken. I tried to get it back,” Jabeur told Sport360 on Saturday in Dubai.

    “Today was a good match, besides the first set, that doesn’t count,” she added with a smile. “But I was stressed. I hadn’t won a match in a long time. Today I really wanted to win, I wasn’t going to walk off the court without getting that win.”

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  • The 23-year-old had switched coaches in the offseason, parting ways with Mislav Hizak and joining forces with Diego Veronelli, Heather Watson’s former coach.

    Jabeur had to split with Veronelli because of logistical reasons that were preventing him from traveling and has now started working with Peng Shuai’s ex-coach Bertrand Perret. Dubai is their first week together.

    Asked if she was feeling the pressure of having to back up her strong 2017, Jabeur said: “If you think about the number of points you’re defending then that’s a very bad idea. You have to just think one match at a time.

    “My concern was my level, I changed my coach because I wanted to improve my level. Now things are going well and with some patience, I know what I’m capable of, and hopefully I’ll be able to make the changes I wanted to my game in 2018.”

    Other winners in Dubai qualifying on Saturday include Greece’s Maria Sakkari who battled for two and a half hours before overcoming China’s Wang Yafan.

    Former US Open champion Sam Stosur India’s world No. 253 Ankita Raina 6-4, 6-4 while 2016 Dubai champion Sara Errani, who served a two-month doping suspension last year, hammered Japan’s Shuko Aoyama 6-1, 6-0.

    Sunday’s qualifying order of play:

    Court No. 1 – 10:30

    Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) v Maria Sakkari (GRE)

    Ons Jabeur (TUN) v Lesia Tsurenko (UKR)

    Sam Stosur (AUS) v Christina McHale (USA)

    Court No. 2 – 10:30

    Wang Qiang (CHN) v Danka Kovinic (MNE)

    Sara Errani (ITA) v Bernarda Pera (USA)

    Court No. 3 – 10:30

    Sofya Zhuk (RUS) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)

    Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Zarina Diyas (KAZ)

    Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) v Miyu Kato (JPN)

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