DUBAI: Defending champion Elina Svitolina needed more than two hours to overcome Qiang Wang 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 on Wednesday and reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championship.

However, French Open champion Jelena Osta­penko’s slumped to her sixth loss in nine matches, and fourth opening-match loss of the season. The 20-year-old Latvian, who had a bye in the first round, lost 6-1, 7-5 to Russian veteran Elena Vesnina.

Sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany ousted 2016 champion Sara Errani of Italy 6-4, 6-2, while fifth seed Caroline Garcia of France won by an identical score over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

In late matches, second-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain beat American teenager Catherine Bellis 6-3, 7-5, while third seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Russia’s Daria Kasatkina saved two match points in the second set before rallying to beat British wild-card entry Johanna Konta 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 after a marathon encounter in which the second set alone took 76 minutes.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018