Makarova in repeat win in Dubai

DUBAI — Ekaterina Makarova followed up on her January upset of Dominika Cibulkova with another defeat for the Slovak in a rain-delayed second-round match at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday. The Russian who knocked Cibulkova out in the Melbourne third round used lessons learned in Australia to repeat the feat against the third seed, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. “It was a tough match again against Domi. Like always, we have three sets,” the winner said. “I started really good with aggressive tennis. “In the second set, maybe I started to think that I’m playing so good or she’s missing too much. I knew that she is a fighter and she will never give up, and she will fight and run and hit. “Beating her at the Open helped a lot, I was believing more and I knew what to do, how to play, where to go, yeah, I was believing that I can beat her.” The morning start had been delayed two hours due to light rain amid cooler temperatures than normal. Cibulkova, seeded third behind Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, held a 3-1 edge over Makarova in their career series before the match. The Slovak was playing the event for the sixth time but had never passed the third round. Ninth seed Elena Vesnina doubled up the day’s Russian victory count, beating Misaki Doi of Japan 6-2, 7-5 while Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig accounted for French 15th seed Caroline Garcia 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Two days afer playing the Doha final, Caroline Wozniacki plunged straight back to work with a 6-2, 7-5 first-round defeat of Darya Kasatkina. Former WTA world No. 1 Wozniacki had only limited turnaround time to adjust to what many feel is a faster court in the emirate compared to last week’s venue. “Unfortunately I didn’t have a bye which I would have loved right now. Anyway, I’m through to the next round. I’m not gonna complain. It’s all right. I’m just gonna grind it out,” the Dane said. “It could have had an easier first round, I was really pleased with how I was able to just stay focused out there from the beginning. It’s much different conditions here. The ball is flying. The court is faster than in Doha. “I didn’t really know how I was going to play to start off with. Generally, I was pleased with my game.” Olympic champion Monica Puig ignored back pain to defeat Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round. The Puerto Rican, a Doha semi-finalist who lost to Wozniacki last week, was stretched out on court for treatment but managed to find her reserves to advance past the Kazakh. Teenaged American Catherine Bellis made a winning debut as the 17-year-old beat Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-5. The match was the first this season for Bellis, who suffered a strained hamstring as well as a muscle problem after a surprise run to the US Open third round. China’s Peng Shuai outed Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine 6-1, 6-1 while Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-3. Alison Riske took advantage of 11 double-faults, breaking Australian Open semi-finalist Coco Vandeweghe five times to post a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Lu, Edmund among winners in Delray Beach openers In Miami, British eighth seed Kyle Edmund and Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun booked a second-round matchup Monday at the ATP Delray Beach Open while US defending champion Sam Querrey advanced on a retirement. Edmund, ranked 49th, fired five aces and faced only one break point in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over France’s Adrian Mannarino, while Lu, ranked 63rd, rallied from a set and 0-3 down to defeat American Bjorn Fratangelo 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. “It was a tough feeling in this moment,” Lu said. “I just tried other things. I changed the game plan, trying to come into the net more and put the pressure on him. I had nothing to lose. I just tried to play a different way and see how he reacts. It worked pretty well after that.” Fourth seed Querrey advanced 6-2, 2-1 when Israeli rival Dudi Sela retired with a back injury. The 35th-ranked American improved to 14-7 at Delray Beach. In a showdown of 19-year-old prodigies, American Taylor Fritz defeated Japan’s Akira Santillan 6-4, 6-4. Fritz next faces either compatriot Donald Young or Croatian second seed Ivo Karlovic. Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka ousted Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 6-3, sending him into a second-round match against either US fifth seed Steve Johnson or American wild card Stefan Kozlov. — AFP