Swiatek and Sabalenka cruise into third round as icon retires at Dubai Tennis Championships

DUBAI: The top two seeds in this week’s WTA 1000 field are safely through to round three of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after making light work of their second-round matches on a topsy-turvy day for seeded players at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.

Following an afternoon session in which three of the top seven seeds fell to lower-ranked opponents, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek safely navigated a potentially tricky tie against Leylah Fernandez to keep her hopes of back-to-back WTA titles alive following her victory in Doha last weekend.

In front of a Center Court crowd who showed support for both players, Swiatek raced into a 4-0 lead and never looked in any real danger despite a gutsy display from Fernandez. The world No. 1 had too much guile, power and speed, dispatching Fernandez 6-1 6-1 in just 1 hr 12 minutes to set up a third-round clash with 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova.

“That was much tougher than the score says. I really needed to work hard. The courts here are a little faster than Doha, so it took a little adjusting but was good in the end,” said Swiatek, who was roared on by a strong contingent of Polish fans.

Prior to Swiatek taking to Center Court, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, needed only 59 minutes to tame Lauren Davis 6-0 6-1. After breaking the American in the second game, Sabalenka never looked back, sending an ominous warning to her rivals.

“I have a better understanding now of what I need to do to keep going. I’m getting used to being announced on court as the Australian Open champion, but I just have to keep moving forward. I had a few days off in Dubai after the Australian Open, a few days at the beach and in some nice restaurants, but then it was straight