by The round of 16 has drawn to a close after matches were played on days 4 and 5 of the tournament. The round of 16 provided plenty of action as Zheng dispatched Ostapenko to set up Quarter-Final battle against number 1 seed Kasatkina. Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina will face Haddad Maia in their first competitive encounter as they look to book their place in the semi-final of the tournament.
Round of 16 – Day 4
S. Rogers marches on in the tournament. She was on her way to winning the best of 3 sets against Kontaveit, after taking the first set 6-4 and yielding the second, 3-6. However, Kontaveit retired in the third set to see Rogers progress to the next round, albeit she would likely have taken the third after leading comfortably at 1-4.
Qinwhen Zheng dispatched Jelena Ostapenko in two sets. Ostapenko started out very strong and was painting the lines as she opened a 3-0 lead. However, Zheng crawled her way back to force a tiebreak which she won by the skin of her teeth 12-10. Though the first set was highly contested, she had figured out her opponent well by then and used the momentum to her advantage, dominating the second set 6-1.
Elsewhere Belinda Bencic faced Marta Kostyuk and prevailed in what was a highly contested match. It was pretty even in the first set, and the Swiss only managed to break the Ukrainian in the seventh game. Kostyuk was broken immediately in the second set but recovered the break to take the set to 7 games. However, Bencic closed the match by winning the second set 7-5.
Meanwhile, Kudermetova met Elise Mertens and was fired up for the first set, winning it 6-1. The Belgian look set for a quick defeat but made a great comeback from 5-2, saving a match point which propelled her to draw out the set to 5-5 and extend the set. However, she did not have much left in the tank as her final games were strung by a series of errors. Kudermetova took the second set 7-5.
Round of 16 – Day 5
The day started out with a tight match between French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova and Liudmila Samsonova, where the Russian dispatched Krejcikova in straight sets. Krejcikova saved two set points in the first set, but was broken one too many times and yielded the first set 7-5. She took the second to a tie-break and Samsonova struggled to close out the match, having had 6 match points. However, the Russian finally prevailed thanks to a forehand pass that was dropped just wide of the line by the Czech player, handing the victory to Samsonova.
Meanwhile, number 1 seed Daria Kasatkina started on the wrong foot against Swiss Jill Teichmann, with the latter taking the first set 6-1. However, Kasatkina demolished her opponent in the second set, taking it 6-0, to take the match to the third set. The russian broke her opponent in the first game of the third set, though Teichmann got her name on the board to 2-1 to break the run of 8 games for the Russian. However, Kasatkina did not let this trouble her too much and got the job done comfortably in the end to take the third set 6-2.
Australian Open runner-up Elena Rybakina faced former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova, and the Khazakstani player will progress into the quarter-finals after taking the match in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Rybakina capitalized on Pliskova’s wobbly start to the match and broke her opponent in the first game which was enough to take the first set. Pliskova made sure not to repeat the mistake in the second set. However, Rybakina broke her opponent in her next two service games and won the second set comfortably 6-2.
The final match of the round of 16 pitted Beatriz Haddad Maia against Yulia Putintseva and proved a great match-up with the former taking the match in three sets 6-4, 65-77, 77-6‑44. Haddad Maia broke her opponent immediately, though the Khazakstani Putintseva recovered well, forcing the Brazilian to break her again to take the first set 6-4.
Putintseva spoiled the party in the second set as she displayed excellent control to save a match point at 5-4. She won the tie-break to force the third set. The final set was just as exciting and was again taken to a tie-break. However, Haddad Maia was wise in the way she returned the slices that Putintseva was dishing at her. The Brazilian read out the play and attacked the ball, taking the tie-break 7-4 with a winning cross-court forehand.
The Last 8
Things heat up in the quarter-final which will provide some interesting encounters. All games will be played on Friday 10th with Shelby Rogers and Belinda Bencic playing kicking things off in the early afternoon. Bencic is the favourite in the match, having won 4 of the previous 5 encounters between the two. However, this is tennis after all and so one cannot be surprised by an upset or two.
Their match will be followed by the duel between number 1 seed Daria Kasatkina who will face Qinwen Zheng. The Chinese player has shown time and time again shown that she will not tremble at the sight of top-seeded players and so that should also provide for an interesting match.
Meanwhile, Beatriz Haddad Maia will face hard-hitter Elena Rybakina. The two have never met before and so that should provide for interesting viewing as they weigh each other’s game to earn a spot in the semi-finals.
The last contender to reach the semi-finals will be the one that prevails when Veronika Kudermetova meets Liudmila Samsonova. Kudermetova leads the head-to-head between the two, however, both struggled to close matches in the round of 16. Whoever manages to fight those issues may just prevail.
Photo: Time Out Abu Dhabi
